Korean J Fam Pract. 2018; 8(3): 423-428  https://doi.org/10.21215/kjfp.2018.8.3.423
Association between Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease and Concentration of Copper and Zinc in Hair Tissue in Korean Adults
Yuri Kwon, Kyung-Chae Park*, Seung-Gun Park, Moon-Hee Kim, Hyejin Oh, Hyewon Kim
Department of Family Medicine, CHA Bundang Medical Center, CHA University, Seongnam, Korea
Kyung-Chae Park
Tel: +82-31-780-5360, Fax: +82-31-780-5944
E-mail: kc829@cha.ac.kr
ORCID: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5453-808X
Received: May 31, 2017; Revised: August 4, 2017; Accepted: August 15, 2017; Published online: June 20, 2018.
© The Korean Academy of Family Medicine. All rights reserved.

This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0) which permits unrestricted noncommercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Abstract
Background: Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) has been reported to be related with metabolic disorders. Although copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn) are known as essential elements for the function of many proteins related to metabolic disorders, the relationship between NAFLD and concentrations of Cu and Zn is not well established. The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between NAFLD and the concentrations of Cu and Zn in hair tissue in Korean adults.
Methods: This cross-sectional study included 438 adults (220 men and 218 women) who participated in a medical examination program from January 2010 to December 2011. For this study, 219 subjects who satisfied the NAFLD criteria and 219 healthy controls were included. The participants were screened for fatty liver by using abdominal ultrasonography and for Cu and Zn levels by using hair tissue samples.
Results: The hair Cu concentrations in patients with NAFLD were lower than those in the control subjects (2.9±4.2 vs. 5.4±7.8 mg%; P<0.001), which was confirmed in the logistic regression model that was adjusted for age, sex, and potential confounding parameters (model 3, odds ratio 0.934; 95% confidence interval 0.885–0.986; P=0.013). However, although the hair Zn concentrations in patients with NAFLD were lower than those in the control subjects in the crude model (21.1±12.1 vs. 17.1±7.6 mg%; P<0.001), no significance was found in the logistic regression model.
Conclusion: Reduced hair Cu concentrations were found in the Korean adults with NAFLD, which suggests that Cu availability may be involved in the development of NAFLD or that Cu level may decrease in response to NAFLD.
Keywords: Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease; Fatty Liver; Copper; Zinc; Hair Mineral; Metabolic Risk Factors
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