Purpose@#
Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (
NAFLD) ranges in severity from simple steatosis to
steatohepatitis. Early
detection of
NAFLD is important for preventing the
disease from progressing to become an irreversible end-stage
liver disease. We developed a
nomogram that allows for non-invasive
screening for
NAFLD in obese
children. @*
Methods@#Anthropometric and
laboratory data of 180
patients from our
pediatric obesity clinic were collected.
Diagnoses of
NAFLD were based on abdominal ultrasonographic findings. The
nomogram was constructed using predictors from a
multivariate analysis of
NAFLD risk factors. @*Results@#The subjects were divided into non-
NAFLD (n=67) and
NAFLD groups (n=113). Factors, including
sex,
body mass index,
abdominal circumference,
blood pressure,
insulin resistance, and levels of
aspartate aminotransferase,
alanine aminotransferase (ALT), γ-
glutamyl transpeptidase (γGT),
uric acid,
triglycerides, and
insulin, were significantly different between the two groups (all p<0.05) as determined using homeostatis model assessment of
insulin resistance (HOMA-IR). In our multivariate
logistic regression analysis, elevated
serum ALT, γGT, and
triglyceride levels were significantly related to
NAFLD development. The
nomogram was established using γGT,
uric acid,
triglycerides, HOMA-IR, and ALT as predictors of
NAFLD probability. @*Conclusion@#The newly developed
nomogram may help predict
NAFLD risk in obese
children. The
nomogram may also allow for early
NAFLD diagnosis without the need for invasive
liver biopsy or expensive
liver imaging, and may also allow clinicians to intervene early to prevent the progression of
NAFLD to become a more advanced
liver disease.