Menopause tied to increased risk of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease

The study has high pointed out the fact that Menopausal status has an association with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.

There remains inconsistency in data for menopause being a risk for NAFLD.

Jaroenlapnopparat and Aunchalee MD, with their colleagues from the Department of Medicine, Mount Auburn Hospital/Beth Israel Lahey Health, Cambridge, MA, did a systematic review and meta-analysis with the aim and objective of determining the association between menopause and NAFLD.

The study summary is given below:

• The search strategy included terms like “NAFLD” and “menopause”, and studies were identified from EMBASE, MEDLINE, and Web of Science databases. Overall, 587 articles were identified.
• The participants had two groups, postmenopausal women and premenopausal women.
• The researchers used a random-effects model and Funnel plot in the study.
• Twelve cross-sectional studies fulfilled the eligibility criteria.
• Odds of NAFLD for menopausal vs premenopausal women had a pooled OR of 2.37.
• Among six studies that adjusted for age and metabolic factors, the pooled OR was 2.19.
• The funnel plot was relatively symmetric, and there was no publication bias.

The meta-analyses revealed that none of the studies provided data on hormonal therapy. The researchers held estrogen deprivation explanatory behind increased odds of NAFLD in postmenopausal women.

Further studies are required to elucidate the findings, the researchers mentioned.

To conclude, menopausal status is tied to approximately 2.4 times higher odds of NAFLD.

Further reading:

Jaroenlapnopparat, Aunchalee MD1,2; Charoenngam, Nipith MD1,2,3; Ponvilawan, Ben MD4; Mariano, Melissa DO1,2; Thongpiya, Jerapas MD5; Yingchoncharoen, Pitchaporn MD5. Menopause is associated with increased prevalence of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Menopause ():10.1097/GME.0000000000002133