Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and associated risk factors in health care professionals in a community hospital in Brazil

INTRODUCTION: Health care professionals are vulnerable to several health problems, including overweight, stress and anxiety. As such, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease is a likely diagnosis in this population. OBJECTIVES: To investigate the association between non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and levels of stress and anxiety in a sample of health care workers in a community hospital in the state of Rio Grande do Sul. METHODS: The sample consisted of 107 health care workers who were interviewed and screened for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease based on clinical, imaging and laboratory parameters. Occupational stress was evaluated using Lipp’s Stress Symptom Inventory, and anxiety was assessed using the Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale. RESULTS: The mean age of the sample was 37.6 years. Most participants were female (89.1%) and the most frequent occupation was nursing technicians (83.2%). While 77.22% of participants did not report significant levels of stress, 30.7% did have mild anxiety. Statistical tests did not reveal a significant association between non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and stress (p = 0.688) or anxiety (p = 0.996). CONCLUSIONS: All participants with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease had some degree of anxiety, but only some experienced stress symptoms, according to Lipp’s Inventory. Statistical tests did not confirm an association between stress, anxiety and the presence non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. Nevertheless, the potential association between these variables should continue to be investigated given the global rise in the prevalence of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and its implications for health care workers.