Clinical correlation of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease in a Chinese taxi drivers population in Taiwan: Experience at a teaching hospital

BACKGROUND: To explore any gender-related differences in the prevalence of conditions-associated with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) among Taiwanese taxi drivers in Taipei, Taiwan. METHODS: We studied 1635 healthy taxi drivers (1541 males and 94 females) who volunteered for physical check-ups in 2006. Blood samples and ultrasound fatty liver sonography results were collected. RESULTS: The prevalence of NAFLD was 66.4% and revealed no statistically significant decrease with increasing age (p = 0.58). Males exhibited a greater prevalence of NAFLD than did females (67.5% vs 47.9%, p < 0.0001). Gender-related differences for associated factors were found. For males, hypertension, hyperuricemia, higher AST, higher ALT, hypertriglyceridemia, and higher fasting plasma glucose were significantly related to NAFLD. These conditions were not sigfinicantly related to NAFLD in females. CONCLUSION: Several gender-related differences were noted for NAFLD among Taiwanese taxi drivers.