Atherogenic index of plasma combined with waist circumference and body mass index to predict metabolic-associated fatty liver disease

Predictive Value of the Chinese Visceral Adiposity Index for Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Fatty Liver Disease and Elevated Alanine Aminotransferase Levels in Nonobese Chinese Adults: A Cross-Sectional Study

Purpose

It is unclear how the Chinese Visceral Adiposity Index (cVAI) relates to metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) in nonobese individuals. In this study, we evaluated the ability of the cVAI to predict MAFLD and elevated ALT in nonobese participants.

Methods

This cross-sectional study recruited 541 nonobese subjects from March 2019 to January 2022 with the age range of 18-80 years. Hepatic steatosis was diagnosed by ultrasound. Participants were divided into four groups according to cVAI quartiles. To assess the associations between cVAI and MAFLD and elevated ALT, multivariate logistic regression was used. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were generated to evaluate the ability of the cVAI to predict MAFLD and elevated ALT.

Results

Compared to the group with the lowest cVAI, the group with the highest cVAI was positively associated with nonobese MAFLD [16.173 (4.082-64.073), P < 0.001] and elevated ALT [8.463 (2.859-25.049), P < 0.001]. The area under the ROC curve (AUC) of the cVAI was greater than that of WC, waist-to-height ratio, or BMI for predicting nonobese MAFLD in the male, female, > 38 and ≤ 38 years old subgroups (P < 0.05), respectively. In addition, the ability of the cVAI to predict MAFLD was better in females, young individuals, and individuals with a higher education level (P < 0.05). The cVAI also had good predictive ability for elevated ALT levels [0.655 (0.602-0.708)], particularly in females, young people, and highly educated participants. Furthermore, the cVAI was strongly positively correlated with the liver fibrosis score (P < 0.05) and was also a strong indicator of concomitant metabolic syndrome in nonobese MAFLD patients [AUC = 0.688 (0.612-0.763)].

Conclusion

The cVAI was strongly related to nonobese MAFLD and elevated ALT. The cVAI may be a reliable and accessible predictor of nonobese MAFLD and elevated ALT.

Elevated AIP is associated with the prevalence of MAFLD in the US adults: evidence from NHANES 2017-2018

Background

Atherogenic Index of plasma (AIP) is closely related to metabolic abnormalities. But as of now, there is no definitive conclusion on the dose-response relationship pattern between AIP and metabolic associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD).

Objective

The objective of this study was to provide a fresh insight for understanding the intrinsic link between AIP and the prevalence of MAFLD by exploring the dose-response pattern between AIP and MAFLD.

Methods

A total of 9254 participants received the survey and 1090 participants were finally included according to the screening criteria. To evaluate the association between AIP and the prevalence of MAFLD based on weighted multivariate logistic regression. Sensitivity analysis of the association between AIP and MAFLD was performed using propensity score matching (PSM). Restrictive cubic splines (RCS) were used to identify patterns of dose-response relationships between AIP and MAFLD, and receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curves were used to evaluate the predictive ability of AIP and traditional lipid parameters for MAFLD.

Results

In this study, a total of 563 participants were found to have MAFLD. The results of weighted multivariate logistic regression analysis demonstrated that, after adjusting for sex and age, participants in the highest quartile (Q4) of AIP had a significantly increased risk of developing MAFLD compared to those in the lowest quartile (Q1) (Model 2: OR = 9.03, 95% CI 4.75-17.17). A similar trend was observed in the fully adjusted model (Model 3: OR = 3.85, 95% CI 1.55-9.52). The RCS analysis revealed a linear dose-response association between AIP and MAFLD(P for crude non-linearity = 0.087). This association remained significant after accounting for potential confounding variables(P for adjusted non-linearity = 0.663). The ROC curve results suggest that AIP performs better than traditional lipid indicators in predicting MAFLD (AUC = 0.732, 95%CI 0.705-0.758).

Conclusion

A linear dose-response relationship exists between AIP and MAFLD, suggesting that as AIP increases, so does the risk of developing MAFLD.

The association of triglyceride-glucose-waist circumference with metabolic associated fatty liver disease and the severity of liver steatosis and fibrosis in American adults: a population-based study

BACKGROUND

The global obesity pandemic has led to an alarming rise in the prevalence of metabolic-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD), making it a substantial clinical and economic burden on society. Early detection and effective treatment of MAFLD are imperative to mitigate its impact.

METHODS

This cross-sectional study was conducted involving 4634 adults from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (NHANES) 2017-2018 cycle. Transient elastography (TE) was used to diagnose MAFLD and assess the extent of liver steatosis and fibrosis. Multivariate logistic regression models were utilized to examine the association between the triglyceride and glucose index-waist circumference (TyG-WC) and the risk of MAFLD, liver fibrosis, and steatosis.

RESULTS

A positive association between TyG-WC and MAFLD persisted across all three models: model1: OR = 8.44, 95% CI: 6.85-10.38 (unadjusted), model2: OR = 8.28, 95% CI: 6.53-10.50 (partially adjusted), and model3: OR = 7.98, 95% CI: 4.11-15.46 (fully adjusted). Further investigation through interaction and stratified analysis revealed that this association was more pronounced in the non-obese and Non-Hispanic White persons groups. Moreover, a non-linear relationship analysis unveiled threshold and saturation effects between TyG-WC and MAFLD. Specifically, a TyG-WC value of approximately 600 may represent the threshold effect for MAFLD risk, while 1200 may signify the saturation effect of MAFLD risk. Finally, a robust correlation between TyG-WC and the severity of liver steatosis and fibrosis was found.

CONCLUSIONS

The findings suggest that the TyG-WC index exhibits excellent predictive value for MAFLD in the general American population.

Using new indices to predict metabolism dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD): analysis of the national health and nutrition examination survey database

BACKGROUND

Metabolism dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD), is the most common chronic liver disease. Few MAFLD predictions are simple and accurate. We examined the predictive performance of the albumin-to-glutamyl transpeptidase ratio (AGTR), plasma atherogenicity index (AIP), and serum uric acid to high-density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio (UHR) for MAFLD to design practical, inexpensive, and reliable models.

METHODS

The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2007-2016 cycle dataset, which contained 12,654 participants, was filtered and randomly separated into internal validation and training sets. This study examined the relationships of the AGTR and AIP with MAFLD using binary multifactor logistic regression. We then created a MAFLD predictive model using the training dataset and validated the predictive model performance with the 2017-2018 NHANES and internal datasets.

RESULTS

In the total population, the predictive ability (AUC) of the AIP, AGTR, UHR, and the combination of all three for MAFLD showed in the following order: 0.749, 0.773, 0.728 and 0.824. Further subgroup analysis showed that the AGTR (AUC1 = 0.796; AUC2 = 0.690) and the combination of the three measures (AUC1 = 0.863; AUC2 = 0.766) better predicted MAFLD in nondiabetic patients. Joint prediction outperformed the individual measures in predicting MAFLD in the subgroups. Additionally, the model better predicted female MAFLD. Adding waist circumference and or BMI to this model improves predictive performance.

CONCLUSION

Our study showed that the AGTR, AIP, and UHR had strong MAFLD predictive value, and their combination can increase MAFLD predictive performance. They also performed better in females.

The Combination of Remnant Cholesterol and Waist Circumference Offers Predictive Value for Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease: A Cross-Sectional Study from a Medical Examination Center

Objective

To explore the association between levels of remnant cholesterol (RC) and the incidence of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in the general population, ultimately leading to the assessment of a novel proposed model combining RC and waist circumference (R-W) as a predictor of NAFLD incidence.

Methods

A cross-sectional analysis was conducted of 4913 subjects undergoing physical examinations at Hebei General Hospital, with ultrasound findings being used to classify patients into individuals with and without NAFLD. Median RC values were used to separate subjects into those with low and high levels of RC, after which the predictive performance of RC and the novel R-W model when used to assess NAFLD risk was assessed through multifactorial logistic regression analyses and receiver operating characteristic curves.

Results

Subjects exhibiting higher RC levels were found to exhibit an elevated risk of NAFLD incidence with or without adjusting for confounding factors. The binary logistic regression analysis-based R-W model may thus offer utility as a tool to gauge the risk of NAFLD in the general population, as it outperformed RC or WC alone, particularly when assessing women or individuals < 45 years of age. The area under the ROC curve for this combined R-W model was 0.813 (0.802, 0.824), with respective sensitivity and specificity values of 83.86% and 63.91%, all of which were significantly higher than corresponding values for RC and WC (P < 0.001).

Conclusion

The present supports a strong association between RC levels and NAFLD in the general populace, and the combined R-W model exhibits greater utility as a tool to predict NAFLD incidence relative to RC or WC in isolation, particularly for individuals who are female or <45 years old.