Comparison of Metabolic Risk Factors for Liver Cancer Among Men and Women in Guatemala

Abstract 13Background:The proportion of liver cancer (LC) that is linked to metabolic risk factors has been increasing in many countries. Guatemala has the highest reported incidence of LC in the Americas,1 but the prevalence of metabolic risk factors is not clear. We undertook this work to examine the prevalence of metabolic risk factors for LC in Guatemala by sex and residence.Methods:We conducted a cross-sectional study of 461 adults older than 40 years who resided in rural and urban areas. Risk factors were defined by using physical exam and laboratory data, including anthropometry, blood pressure, fasting plasma glucose, serum liver enzymes, and lipids. Fatty liver disease (FLD) was defined as a fatty liver index score of > 60 and liver fibrosis (LF) as defined by a FIB-4 score of > 2.67.2,3Results:Among participants, 66% resided in rural areas and 57% were women. Mean ages of men and women were 58.0 ± 11.3 and 53.4 ± 9.8 years, respectively. Compared with men, women had higher prevalence of obesity ...