Background & aims

Little is known regarding the risk of hepatic steatosis (HS) among adult children of affected parents. We examined the association between parental and offspring HS in the multigenerational Framingham Heart Study, which characterized HS using computed tomography.

Methods

We performed multivariable logistic regression models adjusted for age, sex, alcohol use, and body mass index to generate the odds of HS according to parental HS. We determined the proportion of participants with HS according to parental HS and the presence or absence of hypertension, diabetes, or obesity (BMI ≥30 kg/m² ). After excluding heavy alcohol use (n = 126) and missing covariates (n = 1), 785 offspring with at least one parent were included.

Results

Approximately 23% (183/785) had at least one parent with HS and 1.1% had two affected parents (9/785). In adjusted models, participants with at least one parent with HS had a nearly two-fold increased odds of HS compared to participants without a parental history of HS (OR 1.86, 95% confidence interval 1.15-3.03). Among participants without hypertension, diabetes, or obesity, a higher proportion had HS if they had a parental history of HS compared to those without (16.1% vs 5.2%, P < 0.001). However, for participants with cardiometabolic risk factors, we did not observe a difference in HS among those with and without parental HS (30.3% vs 28.5%, P = 0.78).

Conclusions

Individuals with a parental history of HS are at increased risk for HS. Specifically, a parental history of HS may be an important factor among those that are otherwise metabolically healthy.