Metabolic syndrome is not uncommon among lean non-alcoholic fatty liver disease patients as compared with those with obesity

Background Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is associated with obesity, which is known to be associated with metabolic syndrome (MS). However, the risk factors for NAFLD in absence of obesity (leanness) is not well-studied. This study aimed to investigate and compare the clinical characteristics, metabolic associations, and cardiovascular risk factors among patients having NAFLD with (body mass index [BMI] >= 23 kg/m(2)) or without obesity (BMI < 23 kg/m(2)). Methods The cross-sectional study was conducted among the outdoor and indoor patients diagnosed as NAFLD by ultrasonography in a tertiary care teaching hospital in eastern India. Relevant anthropometric measurements, laboratory investigations, and imaging were performed. Metabolic syndrome was classified by the International Diabetes Federation, 2005 criteria. Results Among 120 NAFLD patients, 37 (30.8%) were lean, while 83 (69.2%) were obese. The components of MS such as systolic blood pressure (lean, 138.0 +/- 17.6 mmHg; obese, 137.9 +/- 15.3 mmHg), diastolic blood pressure (lean, 88.9 +/- 6.5 mmHg; obese, 87.3 +/- 6.1 mmHg), fasting blood sugar (lean, 127.8 +/- 30.8 mg/dL; obese, 135.1 +/- 29.5 mg/dL), and serum triglyceride (lean, 170.5 +/- 34.2 mg/dL; obese, 186.4 +/- 43.8 mg/dL) were comparable among patients with obese and lean NAFLD and were more often abnormal among both the groups of NAFLD as compared with controls. Conclusion The overall prevalence of MS among NAFLD study population was 64.2%. Lean NAFLD was also associated with the component of MS like obese NAFLD.