Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease Is a Risk Factor for Type 2 Diabetes in Middle-Aged Japanese Men
- Michihiko Shibata, MD,
- Yasuyuki Kihara, MD, PHD,
- Masashi Taguchi, MD, PHD,
- Mitsuo Tashiro, MD, PHD and
- Makoto Otsuki, MD, PHD
- Department of Gastroenterology and Metabolism, University of Occupational and Environmental Health, Japan, School of Medicine, Kitakyushu, Japan
- Address correspondence and reprint requests to Makoto Otsuki, University of Occupational and Environmental Health, Gastroenterology and Metabolism,1-1 Iseigaoka, Yahatanishi-ku Kitakyushu 807-8555, Japan. E-mail: mac-otsk{at}med.uoeh-u.ac.jp
Abstract
OBJECTIVE—To determine the association between nonalcoholic fatty liver disease and the risk for development of diabetes.
RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS—We conducted an observational cohort study in male workers ≥40 years old in a Japanese company from 1997 to 2005. We excluded workers with alcohol intake ≥20 g/day and those with impaired glucose tolerance by a 75-g oral glucose tolerance test. The remaining 3,189 workers were classified into fatty liver (FL) and non-FL group based on the findings of abdominal ultrasonography. Both groups were followed for the development of diabetes. Hazard ratio (HR) was determined in Cox proportional hazard analysis. A nested case-control study was conducted to determine the odds ratio (OR).
RESULTS—The average age of participants was 48.0 years at the entry, and the average follow-up period was 4.0 years. The incidence of diabetes in the FL group was 2,073 per 100,000 person-years (65 cases), whereas 452 per 100,000 person-years (44 cases) in the non-FL group. The age- and BMI-adjusted HR of diabetes associated with FL was 5.5 (95% CI 3.6–8.5, P < 0.001). In the nested case-control analysis, the OR adjusted for age and BMI was 4.6 (3.0–6.9, P < 0.001).
CONCLUSIONS—Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease significantly increases the risk of diabetes in middle-aged Japanese men.
Footnotes
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Published ahead of print at http://care.diabetesjournals.org on 31 July 2007. DOI: 10.2337/dc07-0792.
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- Accepted July 25, 2007.
- Received April 24, 2007.
- DIABETES CARE
