Demographic and clinicopathological characteristics of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease in the East-Southeastern Anatolia regions in Turkey.

OBJECTIVE To identify the demographic and clinicopathological characteristics of patients diagnosed with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and the risk factors for fibrosis based on histopathological findings in East-Southeastern Anatolia regions in Turkey. SUBJECTS AND METHODS The study included a total of 93 patients diagnosed with NAFLD from 5 different centers. Histopathological findings were evaluated by dividing them into four categories using Matteoni classifications. Cases with fibrosis were further evaluated using Brunt classifications. RESULTS The patients with a nonalcoholic fatty liver were in the 3rd and 4th decade age groups. The mean age was 38 years, 76% of the patients were male, 85% were overweight, 37% were obese, 18% had type 2 diabetes mellitus, and 80.6% had hyperlipidemia. A multiple regression analysis showed that age, type 2 diabetes mellitus, and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) levels were linked with the severity of the disease. Of the 93 patients, 55 (59.1%) had fibrosis, of which 10.8% were classified as severe. The severity of fibrosis was significantly higher in obese patients. CONCLUSIONS The risk factors for severity of NAFLD included advanced age, type 2 diabetes mellitus and serum AST level, while the risk factor for the severity of fibrosis was obesity.