Fatty liver is one of the most common liver diseases across the world. Fatty Liver is characterized by deposition of fat in liver cells. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of fatty liver and some related factors in Birjand, Iran.
This was a cross sectional study and was performed on 520 individuals in Birjand, Iran. Ultrasonography, cholesterol (CHOL), low density cholesterol (LDL), high density cholesterol (HDL), triglyceride (TG), fasting blood sugar (FBS), and tests of liver enzymes were performed. Results were analyzed using SPSS version16 software by Mann-Whitney, chi-square (Fischer exact test) and Kruskal-wallis with significance level of α = 0.05.
The mean age of participants was 41.6 ±13.7 (15 - 70). Males made up most of the subjects. Prevalence of fatty liver was estimated as 47.5% in Birjand. Results showed that fatty liver was associated with age, education, and marital status. People with primary education had a higher prevalence of fatty liver. Also, with elevated grade of fatty liver, ammonium aminotransferase (ALT) level had a significant increase (34.89 ± 29.3).
Several factors were associated with fatty liver that should be considered effectively. Also, increased awareness of the general population about non-alcoholic fatty liver is recommended.