P3810 - High Prevalence of Fatty Liver Among Young Adults Ages 18-30 Based on Transient Elastography

Alexia Tran, ¹, Ashkawn Beheshtian, BS¹, Julia Ernsting, ¹, Vivian Nguyen, ¹, Samantha Hislop, ¹, Bhargava Gannavarapu, MD², Eduardo da Silveira, MD, MSc², Michelle Nguyen, MD³, Ruel Garcia, MD^3
1Los Gatos Research Group, Los Gatos, CA; ²Unio Health Partners, Los Gatos, CA; ³Los Gatos Research Group, Unio Health Partners, Los Gatos, CA

Introduction: Hepatic steatosis, or fatty liver (FL), refers to an increase of intracellular fat in the liver and is defined when ≥5% of the liver is intrahepatic fat. It is one of the most common causes of chronic liver disease and may lead to steatohepatitis, fibrosis, cirrhosis, end-stage liver disease, hepatocellular carcinoma, and death. The prevalence of FL ranges from 10% to 46% in the United States. However, the majority of FL studies focus on adults 40+.

Liver biopsy is the gold standard for diagnosis of FL, but it is invasive, expensive, and has associated risks. Non-invasive methods such as transient elastography (TE) is an acceptable method for diagnosing FL and liver fibrosis and is rapid, portable, relatively inexpensive, and risk-free.

This study aims to determine the prevalence of FL in young adults 18-30 years old using transient elastography (TE).

Methods: 141 non-consecutive subjects aged 18-30 were prospectively recruited from community GI clinics, high school, and college campuses from November 2022 to May 2023. Demographics, diet and exercise habits, and alcohol use were self-reported. Height, weight, and waist circumference were measured. A controlled attenuation parameter (CAP) score of ≥238 was considered FL, and liver stiffness >7.0 kPa indicates a fibrosis stage of F2 or higher. CAP score and fibrosis stage was obtained by FibroScan® 230 (Echosens, Paris, France).

Results: 33/141 subjects (23.4%) had CAP scores of ≥238. Of those with FL, 6/33 (18.2%) had fibrosis stages of F2-F3. F4 was not detected. We measured BMI and categorized subjects according to CDC BMI guidelines for adults. Among subjects with a BMI ≥25, the prevalence of FL was >50%, regardless of activity level (p< 0.001). We modeled age, sex, and exercise/week vs CAP levels. Effects for sex and exercise did not reach statistical significance.

Discussion: Our study shows an alarmingly high prevalence of FL of 23.4% in young adults aged 18-30. Among young adults with fatty liver, there was also a high prevalence (18.2%) of fibrosis F2 or higher. Only BMI ≥25 was found to be a significant predictor of FL.

FL is overlooked in young adults. If left untreated may lead to progression of liver disease. TE may be an efficient, inexpensive method for screening the young population. Identifying and treating FL should begin at the earliest age possible. Interventions at earlier ages may be an effective strategy for combating this silent epidemic. Further studies are needed to corroborate these findings.


Disclosures:


Alexia Tran, ¹, Ashkawn Beheshtian, BS¹, Julia Ernsting, ¹, Vivian Nguyen, ¹, Samantha Hislop, ¹, Bhargava Gannavarapu, MD², Eduardo da Silveira, MD, MSc², Michelle Nguyen, MD³, Ruel Garcia, MD³. P3810 - High Prevalence of Fatty Liver Among Young Adults Ages 18-30 Based on Transient Elastography, ACG 2023 Annual Scientific Meeting Abstracts. Vancouver, BC, Canada: American College of Gastroenterology.