Prevalence of Hypothyroidism in Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD) Patients

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease is a leading cause of chronic liver disease and has a high prevalence globally. The principal causes range from obesity, hypertriglyceridemia, diabetes mellitus and other endocrinopathies to drugs and certain metabolic disorders. Hypothyroidism associated with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease has raised concerns over recent years but there is limited substantive data to support this evidence. Objective: To ascertain the existing prevalence of hypothyroidism in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease patients presenting to a tertiary care hospital. Methods: It was a descriptive cross-sectional study that was executed in the Medical Department of King Edward Medical University, Mayo Hospital, Lahore from 30th July 2022 to 29th July 2023. A total of 215 patients with diagnosed non-alcoholic fatty liver disease on ultrasound were enrolled after taking informed consent and their Thyroid profile i.e., measurement of serum thyroid stimulating hormone, free tri-iodothyronine and free thyroxine was done. Results: From a total of 215 patients, 7 (3.3 %) belonged to the age bracket of 20-40 years and 208 (96.7 %) in the age range of 41-60 years with a female preponderance of 118 (54.9%) and male 97 (45.1%). Mean age was reported to be 50.79 ± 3.95 years and BMI was 23.09 ± 3.93 kg/m2. The overall prevalence of hypothyroidism was reported in 42 (19.5%) patients. Conclusion: It was concluded that there is a high prevalence (19.5%) of hypothyroidism in patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.