Evaluation of Bone Mineral Density in Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease using Dual Energy X-Ray Absorptiometry

Opening of the article

Background: Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) has become a health epidemic involving not only the developed but also the developing world. It is a metabolic syndrome associated with variety of manifestations including hypovitaminosis D through a variety of metabolic mechanisms. Hypovitaminosis D has a direct effect on the bone mineral density (BMD) of patients. Latter can be easily estimated objectively through dual x-ray absorptiometry (DXA) of the lumbar spine and right hip. Though majority of the studies including few Indian studies have shown inverse relationship between NAFLD & BMD, yet few studies fail to show any such correlation.