New research being presented at the Annual Meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD), held online this year, found a link between larger waistlines and the progression of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in people with type 2 diabetes (T2D).

Each 1 cm increase in waist circumference was associated with a 5% higher likelihood of developing advanced fibrosis, a late stage of NAFLD - in which fat builds up in the liver, can progress to severe liver damage, including advanced fibrosis - potentially life-threatening scarring of the liver. It is already known that up to 15-20% of those with T2D have advanced fibrosis. But little is known about what effect, if any, it has on the complications of diabetes.

According to a study in Paris among 685 T2D patients, nephropathy is significantly more common in those with advanced fibrosis than the other T2D patients.

The study also found that every 1 cm increase in waistline was associated with a 5% increase in the likelihood of the participants developing advanced fibrosis. Higher levels of AST, a marker of liver damage, were also associated with higher odds of advanced fibrosis.

 A large waist circumference is linked to metabolic syndrome and fat accumulation in the abdomen, which can lead to NAFLD.