The prevalence of advanced liver fibrosis among patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus: A single-centre experience in Penang, Malaysia / Journal of the ASEAN Federation of Endocrine Societies

Objectives@#This study aimed to compare the severity of COVID-19, inflammatory parameters and clinical outcomes among patients with normal and subnormal levels of Vitamin D.@*Methodology@# This is a retrospective cohort study of 135 patients admitted in a tertiary hospital for COVID-19. Patients were grouped according to their Vitamin D level. Primary outcome measure was the composite of all-cause mortality and morbidity. Other outcome measures determined were the comparison among the groups on the severity of COVID-19 infection, changes in inflammatory parameters, length of hospital stay and duration of respiratory support.@*Results@#There was a significant trend of higher ICU admission, mortality (p-value= 0.006) and poor clinical outcome (p-value=0.009) among the Vitamin D deficient group. No significant difference was found for most of the inflammatory parameters, duration of hospital stay and respiratory support. Overall, patients with deficient, but not insufficient Vitamin D level had 6 times higher odds of composite poor outcome than those with normal Vitamin D (crude OR=5.18, p-value= 0.003; adjusted OR =6.3, p-value=0.043).@*Conclusion@#The inverse relationship between Vitamin D level and poor composite outcome observed in our study suggests that low Vitamin D may be a risk factor for poor prognosis among patients admitted for COVID-19.

PNPLA3 rs738409 Polymorphism Associated with Hepatic Steatosis and Advanced Fibrosis in Patients with Chronic Hepatitis C Virus: A Meta-Analysis

BACKGROUND/AIMS: The recognition of a correlation between patatin-like phospholipase domain containing-protein 3 (PNPLA3) rs738409 (C>G) and the severity of liver steatosis or fibrosis in chronic hepatitis C (CHC) has not reached a consensus. This meta-analysis sought to investigate with accuracy the association between the PNPLA3 rs738409 (C>G) polymorphism and liver steatosis and advanced fibrosis in CHC patients. METHODS: We performed a comprehensive literature search from the PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and Google Scholar databases up to December 31, 2014. Crude odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated. Statistical analyses were performed using Stata 12.0 software. RESULTS: The meta-analysis revealed the severity of liver fibrosis was significantly higher in CHC patients with PNPLA3 rs738409 GG in Caucasians (versus CC+CG: OR, 2.29; 95% CI, 1.57 to 3.35; pG) was associated with the risk of both advanced liver fibrosis and steatosis in patients with CHC, especially among Caucasian populations.