Synergistic effect of fatty liver and smoking on metabolic syndrome

AIM: To investigate the association of fatty liver and smoking on metabolic syndrome and its components. METHODS: This cross-sectional study enrolled participants who attended annual health screening at Shin Kong Wu Ho-Su Memorial Hospital from January to December 2005. A total of 3455 (1981 men and 1474 women) subjects were included in final analyses. Fatty liver was diagnosed using abdominal ultrasonography by trained gastroenterologists. The modified National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel III was used to define metabolic syndrome. The associations between smoking, fatty liver and metabolic syndrome were analyzed using multiple logistic regression. RESULTS: Subjects with fatty liver, and who smoked tobacco, had the highest odds ratios (ORs) for high waist circumference [OR, 4.5 (95% CI: 3.3-6.1), P < 0.05], hypertriglyceridemia [OR, 8.1 (95% CL 6.0-10.9), P < 0.05], low serum high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) [OR, 8.3 (95% CI: 6.1-11.3), P < 0.05], and metabolic syndrome [OR, 9.5 (95% CI: 6.7-13.4), P < 0.05] compared to subjects without fatty liver who did not smoke tobacco. We also found that the ORs for hypertriglyceridemia, low serum HDL-C, and metabolic syndrome for subjects with fatty liver who smoked tobacco had greater than the sum of the ORs for subjects with fatty liver who did not smoke plus those who did not have fatty liver and who did smoke. CONCLUSION: Fatty liver and smoking had a synergistic effect on metabolic syndrome and its components, especially for hypertriglyceridemia and low serum HDL-C. (C) 2009 The WJG Press and Baishideng. All rights reserved.