Spleen size in patients with metabolic syndrome and its relation to metabolic and inflammatory parameters

Abstract

Spleen may be enlarged in patients with metabolic syndrome (MS). Many factors that are encountered in MS were incriminated as etiology of the splenomegaly. The aim of this study was to assess spleen longitudinal diameter (SLD) in patients with MS and to investigate the possible factors affecting spleen size. The study included 60 patients with MS and 30 healthy controls. Assessment of full medical history, anthropometric measurements, and abdominal ultrasound to identify SLD and hepatic steatosis was carried out. Liver enzymes, lipid profile, and interleukin-10 (IL-10) were measured. Fatty liver index, which is considered a marker of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, was calculated from serum triglyceride, BMI, waist circumference, and γ-glutamyl transferase. SLD was significantly higher in patients with MS than controls (123.57±13.88 vs. 101.20±5.44 mm, P <0.001), but IL-10 level was significantly lower (65.24±23.47 vs. 129.41±27.65 pg/ml, P <0.001). Spearman correlation in patients with MS showed significant positive correlation between SLD and waist circumference (r=0.398, P=0.002), alanine aminotransferase (r=0.295, P=0.027), aspartate, aminotransferase (r=0.442, P=0.001), alkaline phosphatase (r=0.444, P=0.001), but not with IL-10 (r= –0.047, P=0.730). Linear regression analysis revealed that waist circumference (β=0.265, P=0.044) and alkaline phosphatase (β=0.340, P=0.011) were the only determinants of SLD. In this study, patients with MS had larger spleen size than healthy controls. SLD significantly correlated with waist circumference but not IL-10 in patients with MS.