Evaluation of The Role of Neck Circumference as A Predictive Value for Non- Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease in Type 2 Diabetic Patient

Abstract

Background: Recently, it has been recognized that non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) represents an important burden of disease for patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM). those individuals not only have a high prevalence of NAFLD but also seem to have increased severity of the disease. Therefore, it is very important to diagnose NAFLD early and manage it properly in a primary stage which will enhance prognosis and prevent secondary complications. Objective: The present study aimed to evaluate the role of neck circumference (NC) as a predictive value for NAFLD in type 2 diabetic patients. Patients and methods: A total of 250 individuals who fulfilled our criteria were enrolled in this cross-sectional study. Physical examination, anthropometric measurements, and abdominal ultrasonography were performed by trained staff. Blood samples for biochemical tests were also obtained after fasting for 8 hr. Results: as regards NC for detection of NAFLD in type 2 DM, at a cut-off value of 38.25; the area under curve (AUC) was 0.647, the sensitivity was 81%, the specificity was 64%, the positive predictive value (PPV) was 60%, and the negative predictive value (NPV) was 83.47%. NC was associated with NAFLD in type 2 diabetic patients (p<0.0001) and remained significant even after adjustment for possible confounding factors. It was also significantly associated with other anthropometric indices, such as systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, disease duration of diabetes, height, weight, waist to hip ratio, alanine aminotransferase, triglycerides, cholesterol, and fatty liver status. Conclusion: Nick circumference was significantly correlated with NAFLD in type 2 diabetic patients. In addition, it had a high predictive value for NAFLD in type 2 diabetic patients among other common anthropometric indices. Therefore, it can be used as a simple and feasible tool for screening NAFLD in a large population with type 2 DM.