Fatty Liver May Lead To Type 2 Diabetes Risk

Scientists have found that individuals with fatty liver were five times more likely to develop Type 2 diabetes than those without fatty liver.

This higher risk seemed to occur regardless of the patient's fasting insulin levels, which were used as a marker of insulin resistance.

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The study has shown that fatty liver may be more than an indicator of obesity but may actually have an independent role in the development of Type 2 diabetes.

"Many patients and practitioners view fat in the liver as just 'fat in the liver,' but we believe that a diagnosis of fatty liver should raise an alarm for impending type 2 diabetes," said senior author Sun Kim of Stanford University in California.

"Our study shows that fatty liver, as diagnosed by ultrasound, strongly predicts the development of type 2 diabetes regardless of insulin concentration," said Kim.

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For the study, researchers examined 11,091 Koreans who had a medical evaluation including fasting insulin concentration and abdominal ultrasound at baseline and had a follow-up after five years.

Regardless of baseline insulin concentration, individuals with fatty liver had significantly more metabolic abnormalities including higher glucose and triglyceride concentration and lower high-density lipoprotein cholesterol concentration.

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Individuals with fatty liver also had a significantly increased risk for type 2 diabetes compare to those without fatty liver.

"Our study shows in a large population of relatively healthy individuals that identifying fatty liver by ultrasound predicts the development of type 2 diabetes in five years.

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"In addition, our findings reveal a complex relationship between baseline fatty liver and fasting insulin concentration," added Kim.

The study will be published in the Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism.

Source-ANI