Non-alcoholic steatohepatitis-related liver cirrhosis is increasing in China: a ten-year retrospective study.

Abstract

OBJECTIVE:

Little is known about metabolic factors in cirrhotic patients in China. Therefore, we aimed to quantify the prevalence of both metabolic factors and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis-related liver cirrhosis in China.

METHODS:

The medical records of 1,582 patients diagnosed with liver cirrhosis from June 2003 to July 2013 at Daping Hospital (Chongqing, China) were retrospectively reviewed through a computer-generated search.

RESULTS:

Serum hepatitis B virus surface antigen was present in 1,083 (68.5%) patients, and hepatitis B was found to be the only etiological factor in 938 (59.3%) of all patients. Obesity, diabetes mellitus, and arterial hypertension were observed in 229 (14.5%), 159 (10.1%), and 129 (8.2%) patients, respectively. From 2012-2013, the proportion of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis-related liver cirrhosis increased to 3.2%, whereas the average proportion of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis-related liver cirrhosis in the previous ten years was 1.9%. The incidence of hepatocellular carcinoma was much higher in males than in females (6.3% vs. 3.7%, respectively, p=0.036). Obesity and diabetes mellitus did not significantly increase the incidence of hepatocellular carcinoma in the whole cirrhotic group. The presence of hepatitis B virus was the only risk factor for hepatocellular carcinoma in cirrhotic patients (p<0.001).

CONCLUSIONS:

Although hepatitis B virus remains the main etiology of liver cirrhosis in China, steatohepatitis-related liver cirrhosis is increasing in frequency. Hepatitis B virus was the sole significant risk factor for hepatocellular carcinoma in the whole cirrhotic group in the present study, in contrast to obesity and diabetes mellitus, for which only a trend of increased hepatocellular carcinoma was found.

• Authors: Ji Xiong, Jun Wang, Juan Huang, Wenjing Sun, Jun Wang, Dongfeng Chen
• Journal: Clinics (Sao Paulo, Brazil) (Clinics (Sao Paulo)) Vol. 70 Issue 8 Pg. 563-8 (Aug 2015) ISSN: 1980-5322 [Electronic] United States
• PMID: 26247669 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't)

Topics

• Adult
• Age Factors
• Aged
• Body Mass Index
• Carcinoma, Hepatocellular (etiology, metabolism)
• China (epidemiology)
• Diabetes Complications (metabolism)
• Epidemiologic Methods
• Female
• Hepatitis B (complications)
• Hepatitis B virus (pathogenicity)
• Humans
• Liver Cirrhosis (epidemiology, etiology, metabolism)
• Liver Neoplasms (etiology, metabolism)
• Male
• Middle Aged
• Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (complications, epidemiology, metabolism)
• Obesity (complications, metabolism)
• Sex Factors
• Time Factors