Pathogenesis of Pediatric Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD)

Does your 12- to 22-year-old have obesity or at risk for developing obesity?

Our research team in Pediatric Endocrinology at Yale is studying what causes fatty liver disease and how sugars are playing a role on liver fat content in children and adolescents with obesity. We would like to understand why some kids develop fatty liver and others do not. Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the leading cause of liver disease in pediatrics with an estimate of about 7 million children and adolescents affected in the US. Early onset fatty liver can mean many years of disease, predisposing youth to develop complications early in life.

We are looking for teenagers and young adults between the ages of 12-22, obese (BMI>30), and identify as Hispanic and/or Black/African American. Hispanic youth show the highest prevalence of NAFLD (~45%) compared to Non-Hispanic Blacks (NHB) (~13%). Understanding the mechanisms leading to the different susceptibility of ethnic groups to accumulate intrahepatic fat will provide important insights in the pathophysiology of fatty liver in kids. We are looking to include the group with the highest rate of fatty liver, Hispanic youths, and a group with the lowest rate Black/African American to gain a better understanding of fatty liver disease.

Participants will be asked to do 3 separate research study visits and follow up visits every 6 months after the research study visits.

Participants may be compensated up to $1380.

To learn more or to see if your child is eligible, please contact Ermena Refugjati, CRA at Ermena.Refugjati@yale.edu or call/text at (203) 684-2546.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Good general health, taking no medication on a chronic basis;
• age 12 to 18 years, in puberty (girls and boys: Tanner stage II-V);
• BMI >85th for obese cohort;

Exclusion Criteria:

• Baseline creatinine >1.0 mg; pregnancy;
• the presence of endocrinopathies (e.g. Cushing syndrome);
• cardiac or pulmonary or other significant chronic illness;
• adolescents with a psychiatric disorder or with substance abuse;
• monogenic obesity syndromes;
• use of drugs affecting intrahepatic fat content (e.g.; liraglutide, fish oil, etc.).