SONOGRAPHIC CORRELATION OF LIVER DIMENSION AND ANTHROPOMETRIC VARIABLES OF HEIGHT, WEIGHT AND BODY MASS INDEX (BMI)

Background: Estimation of liver size can be used as an index to monitor various aspects of liver disease and response to therapy. Purpose: To evaluate the relationship between anthropometric variables (Height, Weight and Body Mass Index) with liver size was carried out in subjects with clinically and sonographically confirmed normal liver. Materials & Methods: This prospective sonographic study was carried out in Calabar, Uyo, Zaria and Makurdi cosmopolitan cities of Nigeria. Scans were performed on 388 subjects and their liver sizes measured in the Midclavicular and anterior axillary lines, respectively. Patients’ heights and weights were also measured and used to calculate their respective body mass indices. Results: Mean liver diameter in the study population was 12.9±1.7cm (Range 9.2 – 15.2cm) and 11.6±1.7cm (Range 8.0 – 14.5cm) at the midclavicular and anterior axillary lines respectively. About 98.5 % of the study population had liver sizes ≤15.0cm while 1.5% had sizes at the upper limits of 15.3 – 16cm. Height and BMI appeared to have sone influence on liver size (r=+60; P<0.05, +0.65; P<0.05) respectively at the midclavicular line but not at the anterior axillary line. An insignificant relationship was observed with weight and liver size (r= +0.1; P<0.05) both in the MCL and AAL. Conclusion: Liver size is affected more by individual’s height and body mass index and less by their weight in the region studied.