Prevalence of Corneal Arcus in Patients Younger Than 50 Years with Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease in Gorgan, Northeast of Iran

• Main Authors: Negar Broomand, Alireza Norouzi, Reza Hosseinpour, Sima Besharat
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Golestan University Of Medical Sciences 2017-10-01
• Series: Journal of Clinical and Basic Research
• Subjects: Corneal arcus; Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD); Liver enzymes
• Online Access: http://jcbr.goums.ac.ir/browse.php?a_code=A-10-39-2&slc_lang=en&sid=1

Introduction: Corneal arcus caused by lipid deposition around the cornea has been proposed as an early marker for several metabolic disorders and even cardiovascular events. Non-alcoholic fatty liver (NAFLD) is a common health problem diagnosed by elevated liver enzymes and abdominal ultrasound findings. This study was conducted to assess the prevalence of corneal arcus in patients with NAFLD in Gorgan, northeast of Iran.Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was performed on 200 NAFLD patients younger than 50 years of age who were referred to hospitals of Gorgan between March 2014 and February 2015. Diagnosis of NAFLD was based on liver function test and abdominal ultrasound examination. Presence of corneal arcus was evaluated by slit-lamp examination. Results: Overall, corneal arcus was found in 91 patients (45.5%). Presence of corneal arcus was significantly correlated with smoking, opium consumption and family history of NAFLD. After controlling the confounding variables )diabetes, hypertension, smoking, hyperlipidemia, age, gender, ethnicity and body mass index(, we found that corneal arcus is significantly associated with history of ischemic heart disease and family history of fatty liver disease.Conclusions: Presence of corneal arcus in patients younger than 50 years with NAFLD is significantly associated with having a history of ischemic heart disease and family history of fatty liver disease.