Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease increases hypertension risk in young women

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a possible risk factor for developing young-onset hypertension, and it affects women and those with serious hepatic steatosis more than males do, says an article published in Nutrition, Metabolism and Cardiovascular Diseases.

Although young individuals are more likely to have both nonalcoholic fatty liver disease and hypertension, it is unclear if NAFLD impacts the occurrence of early-onset hypertension and whether the link is affected by sex. Because of this, Yejin Kim and colleagues did this study to look at how sex can affect the relationship between NAFLD and incident hypertension in young people (40 years).

In this cohort research, there were 67,553 men and 85,789 women who were under 40 years old and did not have baseline hypertension. By using liver ultrasonography, hepatic steatosis was evaluated and categorized as mild, moderate, or severe. Blood pressure (BP) ≥130/80 mmHg, self-reported history of doctor-diagnosed hypertension, or current use of BP-lowering drugs were all considered to be signs of hypertension. For incident hypertension by NAFLD status (median follow-up, 4.5 years), hazard ratios (HRs; 95% confidence intervals [CIs]) were calculated using Cox proportional hazard models.