Association between fatty liver disease and carotid atherosclerosis in patients with uncomplicated type 2 diabetes mellitus.

BACKGROUND: Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a clinic-pathological syndrome closely associated with obesity, dyslipidemia, diabetes and atherosclerosis. Some authors suggest that NAFLD is, in fact, another component of the metabolic syndrome. AIM: To determine the prevalence of NAFLD in diabetes mellitus (DM) patients, and to evaluate the carotid artery status in these patients.
METHODS: Fifty six patients with uncomplicated type 2 DM were enrolled. Hepatic steatosis (HS) and carotid atherosclerosis (intima-media thickness - IMT) were evaluated by ultrasonography. Plasma liver function tests and other biochemical blood measurements were determined.
RESULTS: HS was found in 38 patients (67.8%) with DM. Subjects with HS had higher values for body mass index, diastolic blood pressure, mean blood pressure and triglycerides, and lower HDL cholesterol concentration, but there were no differences regarding IMT between DM patients with or without HS. Behavioral variables (smoking, diet, and sedentarism), fasting plasma glucose, and LDL cholesterol levels, also, did not significantly differ between subjects with and without HS.
CONCLUSION: DM patients with HS in our study showed a cluster of cardiovascular risk factors but non-significant carotid atherosclerosis. The detection of HS by abdominal ultrasound should alert to the existence of a higher cardiovascular risk, but in DM this is still under discussion, the results being still unconfirmed.