Obesity is connected to nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Obesity is linked to a lower socioeconomic position (SES). There is no independent connection between pediatric NAFLD and socioeconomic status. The goal of this study was to assess the distribution of socioeconomic deprivation in pediatric patients with confirmed NAFLD, using an area-level proxy, and to see if the deprivation is linked with liver disease severity. Retrospective analysis of NAFLD patients aged 21 years, followed from 2009 to 2018. The addresses of the patients were assigned to census tracts, which were then connected to the community deprivation index. There were two cohorts studied: one with MRI and/or MRE results suggestive of NAFLD, and another with biopsy-confirmed NAFLD. The bulk of the boys in the MRI and histology cohorts were non-Hispanic, extremely obese, and publicly insured. Both groups had a median CDI of 0.36. Patients in both groups who lived above the median CDI were more likely to be younger at the time of first presentation, MRI, and liver biopsy. The high- and low-deprivation groups did not vary in terms of MRI-measured fat percentage and liver stiffness, as well as histologic features.
Children with NAFLD can be seen across all socioeconomic classes. NAFLD severity is the same in children from more disadvantaged communities and less deprived neighborhoods, despite the earlier age at which they are diagnosed.
Reference: https://journals.lww.com/jpgn/Fulltext/2020/03000/Community_Socioeconomic_Deprivation_and.20.aspx
