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MAFLD in Obese Children: A Challenging Definition

Authors :
Anna Di Sessa
Stefano Guarino
Giuseppina Rosaria Umano
Mattia Arenella
Salvatore Alfiero
Gaetano Quaranta
Emanuele Miraglia del Giudice
Pierluigi Marzuillo
Source :
Children, Vol 8, Iss 3, p 247 (2021)
Publication Year :
2021
Publisher :
MDPI AG, 2021.

Abstract

Background: Recently, the new definition of Metabolic (dysfunction) associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) has gained remarkable scientific interest. We aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of MAFLD definition in selecting obese children at higher cardiovascular risk. Methods: A total of 954 obese children and adolescents was retrospectively enrolled. Clinical, biochemical, and metabolic evaluations were performed. Hepatic steatosis was assessed by liver ultrasound. According to the metabolic status, the population was divided in three groups. Group 1 included obese patients without both non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and metabolic dysregulation; group 2 included patients with obesity and NAFLD (then encompassing one MAFLD criterion); group 3 included patients with obesity, NAFLD and evidence of metabolic dysregulation (then encompassing more than 1 MAFLD criteria). Results: Patients of Group 3 showed a worse cardiometabolic profile, as also proven by the higher percentage of prediabetes (defined as the presence of impaired fasting glucose or impaired glucose tolerance) compared to other groups (p = 0.001). Conclusions: MAFLD criteria in obese children seem to be less accurate in identifying patients having an intrinsic higher cardiometabolic risk. This suggests the need for a more accurate definition in the context of pediatric obesity.

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
22279067
Volume :
8
Issue :
3
Database :
Directory of Open Access Journals
Journal :
Children
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
edsdoj.7105548aafc045b9b4c1e8c89b2cf257
Document Type :
article
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.3390/children8030247