Abstract:Objective To systematically evaluate the prevalence and risk factors of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in overweight and obese children and adolescents in China. Methods Databases including China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wanfang Data, VIP Database, China Biomedical Literature Database, PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library were searched, from database inception to October 2024. Two researchers independently screened the literature, extracted data, and assessed the quality of the studies according to inclusion and exclusion criteria. A Meta analysis was conducted using Stata 16.0 software. Results A total of 42 studies involving 16 481 overweight and obese children and adolescents were included. The Meta analysis results showed that the prevalence of NAFLD among overweight and obese children in China was 43% (95%CI: 37%-48%). Factors associated with NAFLD included being male (OR=1.61, 95%CI: 1.17-2.04), increased weight (MD=10.33, 95%CI: 9.08-11.57), increased waist circumference (MD=5.49, 95%CI: 3.36-7.62), longer duration of obesity (MD=0.31, 95%CI: 0.02-0.61), higher body mass index (MD=3.11, 95%CI: 2.07-4.16), elevated fasting blood glucose levels (MD=0.17, 95%CI: 0.06-0.29), higher triglyceride levels (MD=0.32, 95%CI: 0.17-0.47), elevated total cholesterol levels (MD=0.15, 95%CI: 0.10-0.21), higher low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels (MD=0.14, 95%CI: 0.04-0.23), increased alanine aminotransferase levels (MD=24.39, 95%CI: 18.57-30.20), increased aspartate aminotransferase levels (MD=12.49, 95%CI: 9.67-15.32), elevated serum insulin levels (MD=4.47, 95%CI: 2.57-6.36), higher homeostasis model assessment-insulin resistance (MD=0.45, 95%CI: 0.30-0.59), and elevated uric acid levels (MD=55.91, 95%CI: 35.49-76.32) (P<0.05). Conclusions The prevalence of NAFLD among overweight and obese children and adolescents in China is high. Male gender, increased weight, increased waist circumference, prolonged obesity duration, higher body mass index, dyslipidemia, and elevated levels of fasting blood glucose, liver enzymes, serum insulin, homeostasis model assessment-insulin resistance, and uric acid are potential risk factors for NAFLD in this population.
XIAO Yi,PAN Yu-Fan,DAI Yu et al. Meta analysis of the prevalence and risk factors of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in overweight and obese children and adolescents in China[J]. CJCP, 2025, 27(4): 410-419.
Vos MB, Abrams SH, Barlow SE, et al. NASPGHAN clinical practice guideline for the diagnosis and treatment of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease in children: recommendations from the Expert Committee on NAFLD (ECON) and the North American Society of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition (NASPGHAN)[J]. J Pediatr Gastroenterol Nutr, 2017, 64(2): 319-334. PMID: 28107283. PMCID: PMC5413933. DOI: 10.1097/MPG.0000000000001482.
Bonsembiante L, Targher G, Maffeis C. Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in obese children and adolescents: a role for nutrition?[J]. Eur J Clin Nutr, 2022, 76(1): 28-39. PMID: 34006994. DOI: 10.1038/s41430-021-00928-z.
Quek J, Chan KE, Wong ZY, et al. Global prevalence of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis in the overweight and obese population: a systematic review and meta-analysis[J]. Lancet Gastroenterol Hepatol, 2023, 8(1): 20-30. PMID: 36400097. DOI: 10.1016/S2468-1253(22)00317-X.
Le MH, Le DM, Baez TC, et al. Global incidence of adverse clinical events in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis[J]. Clin Mol Hepatol, 2024, 30(2): 235-246. PMID: 38281814. PMCID: PMC11016479. DOI: 10.3350/cmh.2023.0485.
Stang A. Critical evaluation of the Newcastle-Ottawa scale for the assessment of the quality of nonrandomized studies in meta-analyses[J]. Eur J Epidemiol, 2010, 25(9): 603-605. PMID: 20652370. DOI: 10.1007/s10654-010-9491-z.
Chan DF, Li AM, Chu WC, et al. Hepatic steatosis in obese Chinese children[J]. Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord, 2004, 28(10): 1257-1263. PMID: 15278103. DOI: 10.1038/sj.ijo.0802734.
Lin YC, Chang PF, Chang MH, et al. Genetic variants in GCKR and PNPLA3 confer susceptibility to nonalcoholic fatty liver disease in obese individuals[J]. Am J Clin Nutr, 2014, 99(4): 869-874. PMID: 24477042. DOI: 10.3945/ajcn.113.079749.
Wang R, Yang F, Qing L, et al. Decreased serum neuregulin 4 levels associated with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in children with obesity[J]. Clin Obes, 2019, 9(1): e12289. PMID: 30411515. DOI: 10.1111/cob.12289.
Wang J, Lin H, Chiavaroli V, et al. High prevalence of cardiometabolic comorbidities among children and adolescents with severe obesity from a large metropolitan centre (Hangzhou, China)[J]. Front Endocrinol (Lausanne), 2022, 13: 807380. PMID: 35663319. PMCID: PMC9160715. DOI: 10.3389/fendo.2022.807380.
Zhou L, Zhang L, Zhang L, et al. Analysis of risk factors for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in hospitalized children with obesity before the late puberty stage[J]. Front Endocrinol (Lausanne), 2023, 14: 1224816. PMID: 37720532. PMCID: PMC10501779. DOI: 10.3389/fendo.2023.1224816.
European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL), European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD), European Association for the Study of Obesity (EASO). EASL-EASD-EASO clinical practice guidelines for the management of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease[J]. J Hepatol, 2016, 64(6): 1388-1402. PMID: 27062661. DOI: 10.1016/j.jhep.2015.11.004.
Raj S V, Ismail M, Chan WK, et al. A systematic review on factors associated with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) among adolescents[J]. Clin Nutr ESPEN, 2023, 57: 131-137. PMID: 37739647. DOI: 10.1016/j.clnesp.2023.06.014.
Bril F, Sninsky JJ, Baca AM, et al. Hepatic steatosis and insulin resistance, but not steatohepatitis, promote atherogenic dyslipidemia in NAFLD[J]. J Clin Endocrinol Metab, 2016, 101(2): 644-652. PMID: 26672634. DOI: 10.1210/jc.2015-3111.
Buzzetti E, Pinzani M, Tsochatzis EA. The multiple-hit pathogenesis of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD)[J]. Metabolism, 2016, 65(8): 1038-1048. PMID: 26823198. DOI: 10.1016/j.metabol.2015.12.012.
Pacifico L, Di Martino M, Anania C, et al. Pancreatic fat and β-cell function in overweight/obese children with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease[J]. World J Gastroenterol, 2015, 21(15): 4688-4695. PMID: 25914480. PMCID: PMC4402318. DOI: 10.3748/wjg.v21.i15.4688.
Lu Y, Wang Q, Yu L, et al. Revision of serum ALT upper limits of normal facilitates assessment of mild liver injury in obese children with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease[J]. J Clin Lab Anal, 2020, 34(7): e23285. PMID: 32267017. PMCID: PMC7370732. DOI: 10.1002/jcla.23285.
Navarro-Jarabo JM, Ubi?a-Aznar E, Tapia-Ceballos L, et al. Hepatic steatosis and severity-related factors in obese children[J]. J Gastroenterol Hepatol, 2013, 28(9): 1532-1538. PMID: 23701491. DOI: 10.1111/jgh.12276.
Yuan H, Yu C, Li X, et al. Serum uric acid levels and risk of metabolic syndrome: a dose-response meta-analysis of prospective studies[J]. J Clin Endocrinol Metab, 2015, 100(11): 4198-4207. PMID: 26308292. DOI: 10.1210/jc.2015-2527.
Lee TS, Lu TM, Chen CH, et al. Hyperuricemia induces endothelial dysfunction and accelerates atherosclerosis by disturbing the asymmetric dimethylarginine/dimethylarginine dimethylaminotransferase 2 pathway[J]. Redox Biol, 2021, 46: 102108. PMID: 34438260. PMCID: PMC8390558. DOI: 10.1016/j.redox.2021.102108.