Objective: to assess the prevalence of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in hypothyroid patients in a tertiary care hospital in north India.

Methods: This was a cross-sectional study. A total of 102 hypothyroid patients were included in the study. All diagnosed hypothyroid patient with a serum TSH> 5.5mIU/L with or without treatment were included in the study. On the basis of abdominal ultrasonography, NAFLD was diagnosed.

Results: The prevalence of NAFLD was 53.9%. The prevalence of NAFLD was 4.05 times significantly higher among the patients of age 30-40 years than <30 years (OR=4.05, 95%CI=1.58-10.39, p=0.004). The prevalence of NAFLD was 30% insignificantly lower among male patients than females (OR=0.22, 95% CI=0.21-2.24, p>0.05). The prevalence of NAFLD was 7.80 times significantly higher among patients with BMI ≥25 than BMI<18.5 (OR=7.80, 95%CI=1.46-41.41, p=0.01). Both AST and ALT were significantly (p<0.05) increased among the patients with NAFLD than without NAFLD. Both triglyceride and cholesterol were significantly (p=0.0001) increased among the patients with NAFLD than without NAFLD.

Conclusion: This study found a higher prevalence of NAFLD among hypothyroid patients. Age, BMI, ALT, AST, triglyceride and cholesterol were significantly associated with the prevalence of NAFLD among hypothyroid patients.

Keywords: Hypothyroid patients, Prevalence, Liver function tests, Lipid profile

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Dr Rajendra Kumar

Assistant Professor, Department of Pharmacology, Prasad Institute of Medical Sciences, Sarai Shahzadi, Banthara, Lucknow-226401, India