Prevalence of metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease among information technology employees in India

The Information Technology (IT) sector is a leading industry that fuels India's economic growth. However, the work culture in this sector often promotes sedentary lifestyle, inadequate physical activity, and unhealthy dietary patterns which are risk factors for various non-communicable disease (NCD). This study aims to assess the prevalence of metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) among IT employees and its association with behavioural and biological risk factors. This cross-sectional study involved 345 IT employees in Hyderabad, India, who responded to a questionnaire on their occupational sitting, shift work, stress, sleep duration, smoking, physical activity, and food habits. Anthropometric, biochemical, metabolic, and liver function parameters were evaluated. MAFLD was diagnosed using a Vibration-Controlled Transient Elastography FibroScan. Chi-square test and Spearman's rank correlation were performed to analyse the associations and correlations between risk factors. The median age of the employees was 38 years (34-43 years) with a body mass index (BMI) of 244 (70.72%) obese. Approximately, 248 (71.88%), 89 (25.80%), 241 (69.86%) and 131 (37.97%) of employees were found to sit for long hours at work, had shift work, sleep deprivation and stress, respectively. Almost 72 (20.87%) of IT employees had elevated fasting blood glucose (FBG) and 264 (76.52%) had high low-density lipoprotein (LDL-C). Metabolic Syndrome (MetS) was present in 118 (34.20%) of the employees. A total of 290 (84.06%) employees had increased liver fat accumulation indicating MAFLD. There is high prevalence of MAFLD among IT employees, highlighting the urgent need for workplace interventions and health promotion initiatives addressing MAFLD risk in the IT workforce.