Fatty liver index in young adult offspring of women with type 1 diabetes

Background Exposure to a hyperglycemic environment during prenatal life may result in an unfavorable metabolic profile later in adulthood. We aimed to assess whether fatty liver index, a non-invasive indicator of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease risk, differs in young adult offspring of women with type 1 diabetes from offspring of women without diabetes. Methods This cohort study was conducted within the hospital district of Helsinki and Uusimaa, Finland. Between 1996 and 2000, we identified 238 singleton offspring of women with type 1 diabetes, born at the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Helsinki University Hospital, Helsinki, Finland. From the Finnish Medical Birth Register, we identified 476 singleton age- and region-matched offspring of women without diabetes. At 18–23 years of age, 70 offspring of women with type 1 diabetes and 83 offspring of women without diabetes participated in a clinical study, including laboratory tests, clinical assessments, and self-reported questionnaires. The noninvasive fatty liver index was used to estimate nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. Results Fatty liver index (FLI) was similar between offspring of women with type 1 diabetes and offspring of women without diabetes (p = 0.59). Additionally, no differences between the groups could be observed for FLI ≥ 60, i.e., to cut-off value for NAFLD. Likewise, we could not find any statistically significant differences between young adult offspring of women with type 1 diabetes (20.4 years [SD 1.6]) and young adult offspring of women without diabetes (20.6 years [SD 1.6]) regarding metabolic characteristics: BMI 24.5 kg/m 2 vs. 24.0 kg/m 2 , fasting plasma glucose 5.39 mmol/L vs. 5.40 mmol/L, fasting insulin 11.0 mU/L vs. 10.6 mU/L, total cholesterol 4.36 mmol/L vs. 4.30 mmol/L, systolic BP 117 mmHg vs. 119 mmHg, triglycerides 0.89 mmol/L vs. 0.96 mmol/L, and Waist-to-height ratio 0.41 vs. 0.42. Conclusions Our results suggest that fatty liver index is not elevated in young adult offspring of women with type 1 diabetes. Further research on whether pregestational type 1 diabetes in pregnancy affects offspring’s nonalcoholic fatty liver disease risk is warranted.