Serum Ferritin level, microalbuminuria and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in type 2 diabetic patients.

Background: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) was considered one of the most common causes of chronic liver disease and is considered the hepatic manifestation of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). The factors that lead to marked fibrosis and liver cell injury in NAFLD are still remaining undiscovered.

Patients And Methods: This study included (40) type 2 diabetic patients with NAFLD and (40) diabetic patients without NAFLD beside 15 healthy persons as a control group. All of them were subjected to full history taking, thorough clinical examination with especial stress on body weight (BW), height, body mass index (BMI), waist-hip ratio, blood pressure. Laboratory tests included serum total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), low density lipoprotein (LDL) and high-density lipoprotein (HDL), fasting blood glucose (FBG) and 2-h postprandial blood glucose (PBG), serum Ferritin and urine microalbuminuria (MAU).

Results: Duration of diabetes, BW, BMI and blood pressure were significantly higher in NAFLD group (P = 0.001). FBG, PBG, TC, TG, LDL, serum Ferritin and MAU were significantly increased in NAFLD group with significant difference between two studied groups as regard HDL. There was a highly significant correlation between serum Ferritin with BW, BMI, duration of diabetes, TC, TG, LDL and MAU. There was a significant correlation between serum Ferritin with age, waist hip ratio, duration of diabetes, SBP, FBG, PBG and HDL. There was a significant correlation between MAU and age, weight, BMI, waist hip ratio, duration of diabetes, DBP, FBG TC, TG, LDL and HDL.

Conclusion: NAFLD is a common liver disorder in diabetic patients. NAFLD is significantly associated with microalbuminuria and elevated serum Ferritin.