Relationship Between Body Mass Index, Fatty Liver, Lipids Profile, Carotid Intima-Media Thickness and Subcutaneous and Visceral Fat Determined by Ultrasound

Childhood obesity is a risk factor for cardiovascular diseases, hypertension, diabetes and non-alcoholic fatty liver. Early diagnosis of obesity complications in children can be helpful for more effective treatment.

The present study aimed to evaluate the relationship of body mass index (BMI), fatty liver, lipids profile, carotid arteries intima-media thickness and thickness of subcutaneous visceral fat by using the ultrasound.

Sixty one obese children (BMI > 95th) were enrolled in the study. The ultrasound was performed to evaluate the presence and degree of fatty liver in all cases and also for measuring the subcutaneous tissue which was measured in the middle regions of the abdomen and the right flank and visceral fat thickness along with carotid arteries intima-media thickness. The lipids profile (TG, Chol, LDL, HDL) was measured after 12-hour fasting in all cases.

A significant increase in the degree of fatty liver was observed with increasing subcutaneous and visceral fat thickness (P < 0.001), but these correlations were not considerable for carotid arteries intima-media thickness. A linear relationship with a positive trend was seen between the BMI and degree of liver steatosis. The visceral fat thickness showed a significant correlation with lipids profile.

The present study revealed significant relationships between thickness of visceral and subcutaneous fat, grade of fatty liver, and lipids profile in children.