Detection of Visceral adiposity by Ultrasonography and its relation to insulin resistance in HCV patients

Background: Hepatitis C is a major cause of liver-related morbidity and mortality and represents a major public health problem in Egypt and worldwide. Ultrasonography is a simple non-invasive method for detection of visceral fat, which is directly, correlated with insulin resistance (IR) as well as development of type 2 diabetes mellitus. Aim: To assess the validity of detection of visceral adipose tissue area with Ultrasonography and its correlation with IR in HCV patients Materials & Method: The study participants were subcategorized into two groups, Group (I): included 867 healthy subjects with negative (HCV) RNA as a control group. Group (II): included 277 patients with chronic HCV as a study group. The 2 groups were subjected to thorough history taking, full clinical examination, Anthropometric study,ultrasonographic examination and laboratory investigations including liver functions, viral markers, and qualitative PCR for HCV RNA ,lipid profile & glucose profile . Results: This study revealed that ultrasonography is a simple, non-invasive, safe method in detection of visceral adiposity, which is correlated significantly with IR in chronic HCV patients