Abstract
Objective: We showed before in a cross-sectional study that both nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and nephrolithiasis were associated with lifestyle-related diseases (LD) and metabolic syndrome (MetS). However, NAFLD was more strongly associated with them than nephrolithiasis. Furthermore, the combined presence of NAFLD and nephrolithiasis could enhance the progression of atherosclerosis. The present study had a longitudinal retrospective design.
Methods: The subjects were 756 persons who underwent ultrasonography at our center during the period from October 2007 to September 2010 as well as five years after baseline. Those with an alcohol intake of > 20g/day were excluded. Five hundred thirty persons without NAFLD at baseline were divided into a group with NAFLD and a group without NAFLD five years later. The change in LD and MetS was compared between the 2 groups. Seven hundred two persons without nephrolithiasis at baseline were also analyzed. Independent predictors of NAFLD and nephrolithiasis development were determined by multivariate logistic regression. Furthermore, according to NAFLD and nephrolithiasis development, 490 persons without NAFLD or nephrolithiasis at baseline were divided into four groups (neither NAFLD nor nephrolithiasis development, development of only NAFLD, development of only nephrolithiasis, development of both NAFLD and nephrolithiasis) and compared.
Results: Changes in LD and MetS in the group with NAFDL were significantly worse compared with the group without NAFLD. The independent predictors of NAFLD development were obesity, dyslipidemia, treatment for hyperuricemia, and absence of exercise habit. Although the predictors of nephrolithiasis development could not be clarified, in the comparison of the four groups, frequencies of LD and MetS in the group with NAFLD and nephrolithiasis were higher than in the other three groups.
Conclusions: Our study suggested that LD and MetS could be involved in the development of not only NAFLD but also nephrolithiasis in the near future.
