Prevalence of the rs738409 Polymorphism in PNPLA3 in Rural Bangladeshi Population

Introduction: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a prevalent etiology of chronic liver disease, and its global incidence is on the rise in tandem with the escalating obesity crisis. Objective: This study aims to study is to see the prevalence of NAFLD and its risk factors in Bangladeshi adult population. Methods: During a six-month period, a cross-sectional study was conducted in a randomly selected sample of the adult general population residing in a village in Comilla, Bangladesh. The study participants consisted of the whole adult population of a village. All individuals above the age of 18 were extended an invitation to partake in the study. Participants who consent to participate in this study scheduled an appointment with the study staff to have a comprehensive history and physical examination, as well as laboratory tests. Results: Study shows that the 18-40 years age group had the highest number of participants representing 52.74%. The majority of the participants were from rural areas, representing 156 (85.71%). Most of the participants were from lower class by socio-economic condition representing 110 (60.43%). The majority of the study participants were illiterate representing 95 (52.19%). Most of the participants had normal blood pressure, representing 150(82.41%) followed by Hypertensive 27(14.83%), Pre-hypertensive 5(2.74%). Regarding hypertension, most of the participants were not known about their status and representing 100(54.94%) followed by hypertension 9(4.94%) and no hypertension 73(40.10%). Regarding BMI status, most of the participants were normal status representing 78(42.85%), overweight was 65(35.71%) and obesity were 39(21.42%). Prevalence of CC, CG and GG were 52.91%, 41.20% and 6.66% respectively. Association between NAFLD and Non-NAFLD groups regarding CC, CG, GG and CG+GG were insignificant as P-value were <0.05.The overall prevalence of NAFLD in our study was 23.07%. Conclusion: The presence of PNPLA3 has been identified as a causative factor contributing to the variation in the prevalence of improved non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) in Bangladesh. Etiology is influenced by the interplay between genetic variations and environmental or physiological factors, such as individual obesity. J Com Med Col Teachers’ Asso July 2026; 30(2): 73-78