Little information is available regarding the relationship between insulin resistance (IR) and fatty liver index (FLI) in children in a population-based setting.
The study included a total of 56 ninth-grade children participating in check-up programs implemented in Tsunan Town, Niigata, Japan (boys/girls, 32/24). IR was defined as homeostasis model assessment (HOMA)-R ≧2.5. FLI was calculated using waist circumference, BMI, γGTP, TG, and FLI ≧60 was defined as fatty liver. Correlations between these parameters were evaluated using the Spearman’s correlation test.
The medians (25-75thpercentiles) of HOMA of IR , FLI and body mass index in boys were 1.9 (1.3-3.0), 2.7 (1.7-3.9) and 19.3 (18.1-21.4)kg/m2, respectively, vs 2.1 (1.6-4.4), 4.6 (1.9-12.5) and 21.5 (20.0-25.3)kg/m2 in girls, respectively. Those with IR were not significantly different between girls and boys (41.7/28.7%; P=0.254). FLI tended to be higher proportion of girls than boys (8.3/3.1%; P=0.091). The correlation between IR and FLI was significant only in girls but not in boys (r = 0.705; P < 0.001, r = -0.012; P = 0.952).
The correlation between FLI and IR was examined in Japanese school children aged 14 to 15 years old. IR was significantly correlated with FLI in girls. Therefore, IR could be a potential indicator for predicting fatty liver in girls.