Association of non-alcoholic fatty liver with plasma homocysteine and the methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase gene polymorphism in patients of type 2 diabetes mellitus in Shanxi, China / 中华全科医师杂志

ABSTRACT

To investigate the relationship between plasma level of homocysteine(Hcy) and the methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase ( MTHFR ) gene polyroorphism with non-alcoholic fatty liver in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Methods In a case-control study, plasma levels of Hcy, folic acid (FA), vitamin B12 (VitB12), glycosylated hemoglobin Alc (HbAlc), fasting blood glucose (FBG), total cholesterol and triglyceride were measured in 159 T2DM patients with and without non-alcoholic fatty liver ( NAFL), as well as 52 normal controls. Mutation of the C677T of MTHFR gene was determined by polymerase chain reaction-restricted fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) for all of them. Results Patients of T2DM both without NAFL (96 case) and with NAFL had higher prevalence of hyperhomocysteinemia (Hhcy) (49% and 21%, respectively ) than normal controls did (4 cases, 8% ) (P<0.05), while patients of T2DM with NAFL had higher prevalence of Hhcy than those without it did (P <0. 05). Plasma level of Hey positively correlated to genotype frequency of the MTHFR gene, plasma 0levels of HbAlc and FBG in patients of T2DM, with coefficients of correlation of 0.248, 0.423 and 0.242, respectively (P < 0.05). Results of multiple logistic regression analysis showed that course of the disease, body mass index, plasma levels of FBG and Hcy all were independent risk factors for non-alcoholic fatty liver in patients with T2DM. Conclusions Hhey was an independent risk for non-alcoholic fatty liver and plasma level of Hey was influenced by frequency of the TT genotype of the MTHFR gene, plasma levels of FA and VitB12, as well as metabolic disturbance in patients with T2DM.