NAFLD closely associated with risk of severe hypoglycemia in diabetes patients: JAMA

Written By : Jacinthlyn Sylvia |Medically Reviewed By : Dr. Kamal Kant Kohli Published On 2022-08-08T17:30:30+05:30 | Updated On 8 Aug 2022 5:38 PM IST

In a new study conducted by Ji-Yeon Lee and team it was found that regardless of weight status, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) was linked to a greater risk of severe hypoglycemia in people with type 2 diabetes.

The findings of this study were published in the Journal of American Medical Association.

Although nonalcoholic fatty liver disease and hypoglycemia have not been studied in noncirrhotic persons with type 2 diabetes, prior research has shown that liver cirrhosis and hypoglycemia are related. In order to better understand the relationship between NAFLD and severe hypoglycemia in type 2 diabetes patients, this study was carried out.

The National Health Insurance System of South Korea was used in this population-based retrospective cohort analysis. It included people 20 years of age or older who had received a medical health assessment between January 1, 2009, and December 31, 2012 and were identified as having type 2 diabetes. Following up with participants continued through December 31, 2015. Between January 1, 2019, and February 2, 2021, data analysis was done. A substitute marker for NAFLD was the first fatty liver index (FLI).

The key findings of this study were as follows:

1. 1,125,187 (57.8%) of the 1,946,581 people with type 2 diabetes were male.

2. 45 135 (2.3%) individuals encountered one or more severe hypoglycemia incidents throughout the course of a median (IQR) follow-up of 5.2 (4.1-6.1) years.

3. Individuals with severe hypoglycemia were older and had a lower mean (SD) body mass index than participants without severe hypoglycemia.

4. Regardless of BMI level, patients with NAFLD tended to have less severe hypoglycemia.

5. Although there was a J-shaped connection between FLI and severe hypoglycemia when several clinical variables, including body mass index, were adjusted, the estimated risk of hypoglycemia was greater in people with NAFLD.

6. The connection was stronger among people who were female and underweight.

In conclusion, the Authors found when assessing type 2 diabetes patients' susceptibility to hypoglycemia, the existence of NAFLD should be taken into account.

Reference:

Lee, J.-Y., Kim, Y., Han, K., Han, E., Lee, B. W., Kang, E. S., Cha, B.-S., Ko, S.-H., & Lee, Y. (2022). Analysis of Severe Hypoglycemia Among Adults With Type 2 Diabetes and Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease. In JAMA Network Open (Vol. 5, Issue 2, p. e220262). American Medical Association (AMA). https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2022.0262

JAMA Network Opennonalcoholic fatty liver diseasehypoglycemiatype2 diabetes

Source : JAMA Network Open

Jacinthlyn Sylvia

Neuroscience Masters graduate

Jacinthlyn Sylvia, a Neuroscience Master's graduate from Chennai has worked extensively in deciphering the neurobiology of cognition and motor control in aging. She also has spread-out exposure to Neurosurgery from her Bachelor’s. She is currently involved in active Neuro-Oncology research. She is an upcoming neuroscientist with a fiery passion for writing. Her news cover at Medical Dialogues feature recent discoveries and updates from the healthcare and biomedical research fields. She can be reached at editorial@medicaldialogues.in

Dr. Kamal Kant Kohli

Dr Kamal Kant Kohli-MBBS, DTCD- a chest specialist with more than 30 years of practice and a flair for writing clinical articles, Dr Kamal Kant Kohli joined Medical Dialogues as a Chief Editor of Medical News. Besides writing articles, as an editor, he proofreads and verifies all the medical content published on Medical Dialogues including those coming from journals, studies,medical conferences,guidelines etc. Email: drkohli@medicaldialogues.in. Contact no. 011-43720751