Screen young people with Type 1 diabetes for fatty liver, Hong Kong researchers say

Young people suffering from a type of diabetes should be screened for fatty liver, Hong Kong researchers have suggested after a pilot study found a connection between the two.

Researchers said the study suggested people who had fatty liver and Type 1 diabetes, which was more commonly diagnosed in children and teenagers, were more prone to other long-term complications.

The study, which is the first of its kind in the city, was conducted between mid-August and mid-September by the Virtus Medical Group and Youth Diabetes Action. It recruited 28 volunteers aged between eight and 18 and 32 volunteers older than 18, all of whom had Type 1 diabetes. They underwent a non-invasive fibroscan to assess the fat content and stiffness of the liver.

The researchers noted that only one of the 28 volunteers in the younger age bracket had both fatty liver and liver fibrosis, while five in the older group of 32 volunteers had increased liver fat content and four in that group had liver fibrosis.

“Most of us may hear more about the connection between Type 2 diabetes and fatty liver, [but] its connection with Type 1 diabetes is less known,” said Dr Chow Chung-mo, a specialist in paediatrics who led the research.

“But I believe that with more sufficient information, we could help the children to plan ahead on what they should pay attention to.”

According to the latest Hong Kong Childhood Diabetes Registry by the Youth Diabetes Action, Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes have continued to rise over the past two decades. Some 335 children were diagnosed with Type 1 between 1997 and 2007, compared with 498 children between 1997 and 2007.