Evidence map›Paper›PMID 37409224›Full record

ArticleFrontiers in endocrinology2023

Prevalence and associated factors of metabolic-associated fatty liver disease in overweight Finnish children and adolescents.

Hanna Riekki, Linnea Aitokari, Laura Kivelä, Siiri Lahti, Pauliina Hiltunen, Nina Vuorela, Heini Huhtala, Timo A Lakka, Kalle Kurppa

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Frontiers in endocrinology, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 14 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
14citing papers in PubMed
3.2field-weighted citation impact, top 7% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

14 citing papers in PubMed, 15 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
  2. Article
  3. Review
  4. Article
  5. Early Versus Late Diagnosis of Youth-Onset Type 2 Diabetes.Endocrinology, diabetes & metabolism · 2025
    Article
  6. Article
  7. Article
  8. Article
  9. Article
  10. Impact of segmental body composition on metabolicFrontiers in endocrinology · 2025
    Article
  11. Article
  12. Review
  13. Article
  14. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.

Hanna RiekkiTampere Center for Child, Adolescent and Maternal Health Research, Tampere University, Tampere, Finland.
Linnea AitokariTampere Center for Child, Adolescent and Maternal Health Research, Tampere University, Tampere, Finland.
Laura KiveläTampere Center for Child, Adolescent and Maternal Health Research, Tampere University, Tampere, Finland.
Siiri LahtiTampere Center for Child, Adolescent and Maternal Health Research, Tampere University, Tampere, Finland.
Pauliina HiltunenDepartment of Pediatrics, Tampere University Hospital, Tampere, Finland.
Nina VuorelaTampere Center for Child, Adolescent and Maternal Health Research, Tampere University, Tampere, Finland.
Heini HuhtalaFaculty of Social Sciences, Tampere University, Tampere, Finland.
Timo A LakkaInstitute of Biomedicine, School of Medicine, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland.
Kalle KurppaTampere Center for Child, Adolescent and Maternal Health Research, Tampere University, Tampere, Finland.
Tampere University · FITampere University Hospital · FIUniversity of Eastern Finland · FIUniversity of Helsinki · FI

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Introduction: Data on the prevalence of pediatric fatty liver disease remain limited, partly due to challenges in diagnosis. A novel concept of metabolic-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) makes it possible to establish the diagnosis in overweight children with sufficiently elevated alanine aminotransferase (ALT). We investigated the prevalence, risk factors, and metabolic co-morbidities of MAFLD in a large group of overweight children. Methods: Data on 703 patients aged 2-16 years examined due to overweight in different levels of healthcare in 2002-2020 were collected retrospectively from patient records. MAFLD was here defined as ALT >2x reference (>44 U/l in girls and >50 U/l in boys) in overweight children according to recently updated definition. Patients with MAFLD and without it were compared, and subgroup analyses were conducted among boys and girls. Results: Median age was 11.5 years, and 43% were girls. Altogether 11% were overweight, 42% obese and 47% severely obese. Abnormal glucose metabolism was present in 44%, dyslipidemia in 51%, hypertension in 48% and type 2 diabetes (T2D) in 2%. MAFLD prevalence varied between 14-20% in examined years without significant change (p=0.878). The pooled prevalence over the years was 15% (boys 18%, girls 11%; p=0.018), peaking in girls at early puberty and increasing in boys with age and puberty. Associated factors in boys were T2D (OR 7.55, 95% CI 1.23-46.2), postpubertal stage (5.39, 2.26-12.8), increased fasting insulin (3.20, 1.44-7.10), hypertriglyceridemia (2.97, 1.67-5.30), hyperglycemia (2.88, 1.64-5.07), decreased high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol (2.16, 1.18-3.99), older age (1.28, 1.15-1.42) and higher body-mass-index (1.01, 1.05-1.15), and in girls T2D (18.1, 3.16-103), hypertriglyceridemia (4.28, 1.99-9.21), and decreased HDL (4.06, 1.87-8.79). Conclusion: Prevalence of MAFLD was 15%, with no statistically significant increase in the 2000s. The condition was associated in general with male gender, puberty stage and disturbances in glucose and lipid metabolism, and higher age and BMI in boys.

Indexed as

Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2HypertriglyceridemiaNon-alcoholic Fatty Liver DiseaseAdolescentChildCholesterol, HDLFemaleFinlandHumansMaleObesityOverweightPrevalenceRetrospective StudiesCholesterol, HDLalanine aminotransferasechildrendiabetesdyslipidemiaglucose intoleranceMAFLDNAFLDobesity

Identifiers

PMID37409224
PMCPMC10319394
OpenAlexW4381435416

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.