More Children Now Affected By Fatty Liver Disease

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) now affects about 1 in 10 children, a statistic that has greatly increased over the last few decades.

Prevalence of NAFLD rose from 3.6% to 9.9% from 1988 to 2008, researchers reported at a press briefing during Digestive Disease Week.  NAFLD was defined as overweight or obese children with elevated alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels greater than 25.8 in boys and 22.1 in girls. 

Researchers analyzed data from 10,359 participants ages 12 to 18 from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 1988-2008.  They found that during the study, prevalence of elevated ALT rose 120% in obese children from 16.7% to 36.9% but showed no significant increase among overweight participants.  They associated these rates with a steady increase in BMI in both obese and overweight participants, as well as an increase in mean waist circumference. 

“With increasing incidence, it is more important than ever to investigate the causes, prevention and treatment for conditions like nonalcoholic fatty liver diseases and chronic hepatitis C, as well as to identify obstacles to liver transplantation,” they concluded.

-Michael Potts