Prevalence of Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease using fatty liver index (FLI) among health care workers - A cross sectional study

Healthcare workers (HCWs) have faced increased risk of life-style related disorders such as non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) due to stress and workload following the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, it is of interest to evaluate the prevalence of NAFLD and risk factors among 184 Indian HCWs aged over 40 using a non-invasive Fatty Liver Index (FLI) as a diagnostic tool. NAFLD prevalence was 25.7% (95% CI: 19.8-32.5) using an FLI cut-off ≥60, with significant associations found for age, obesity, dyslipidemia, and metabolic syndrome. While no significant association was seen with HbA1c or sex, FLI showed fair agreement with abdominal ultrasonography (kappa = 0.31), supporting its potential as a practical cost-effective tool for large-scale screening rather than a confirmatory diagnostic tool. Given the growing NAFLD burden in high-risk occupational groups, FLI can enable early detection and targeted interventions in HCWs after establishing population-specific cut-off scores.