NAIF: A novel artificial intelligence-based tool for accurate diagnosis of stage F3/F4 liver fibrosis in the general adult population, validated with three external datasets

OBJECTIVE

The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of a new AI-based tool called NAIF (NAFLD-AI-Fibrosis) in identifying individuals from the general population with advanced liver fibrosis (stage F3/F4). We compared NAIF's performance to two existing risk score calculators, aspartate aminotransferase-to-platelet ratio index (APRI) and fibrosis-4 (Fib4).

METHODS

To set up the algorithm for diagnosing severe liver fibrosis (defined as Fibroscan® values E ≥ 9.7 KPa), we used 19 blood biochemistry parameters and two demographic parameters in a group of 5,962 individuals from the NHANES population (2017-2020 pre-pandemic, public database). We then assessed the algorithm's performance by comparing its accuracy, precision, sensitivity, specificity, and F1 score values to those of APRI and Fib4 scoring systems.

RESULTS

In a kept-out sub dataset of the NHANES population, NAIF achieved a predictive precision of 72 %, a sensitivity of 61 %, and a specificity of 77 % in correctly identifying adults (aged 18-79 years) with severe liver fibrosis. Additionally, NAIF performed well when tested with two external datasets of Italian patients with a Fibroscan® score E ≥ 9.7 kPa, and with an external dataset of patients with diagnosis of severe liver fibrosis through biopsy.

CONCLUSIONS

The results of our study suggest that NAIF, using routinely available parameters, outperforms in sensitivity existing scoring methods (Fib4 and APRI) in diagnosing severe liver fibrosis, even when tested with external validation datasets. NAIF uses routinely available parameters, making it a promising tool for identifying individuals with advanced liver fibrosis from the general population. Word count abstract: 236.

Adherence to GLP1-RA and SGLT2-I affects clinical outcomes and costs in patients with type 2 diabetes

AIMS

To evaluate the impact of adherence to glucagon like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP1-RA) and sodium-glucose transporter two inhibitors (SGLT2-I) on clinical outcomes and costs in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The 121,115 residents of the Lombardy Region (Italy) aged ≥40 years newly treated with metformin during 2007-2015 were followed to identify those who started therapy with GLP1-RA or SGLT2-I. Adherence to drug therapy over the first year was defined as the proportion of days covered >80%. Within each drug class, for each adherent patient, one non-adherent patient was matched for age, sex, duration, adherence to metformin treatment and propensity score. The primary clinical outcome was a composite of insulin initiation, hospitalisation for micro- and macrovascular complications and all-cause mortality after the first year of drug treatment. Costs were evaluated based on reimbursements from the national healthcare system.

RESULTS

After matching, 1182 pairs of adherent and non-adherent GLP1-RA users and 1126 pairs of adherent and non-adherent SGLT2-I users were included. In both groups, adherent patients experienced a significantly lower incidence of the primary outcome (HR: 0.85, 95% CI 0.72-0.98 for GLP1-RA and HR: 0.69, 95% CI 0.55-0.87 for SGLT2-I). A significant reduction in hospitalizations was found for adherent patients in the GLP1-RA group but not for the SGLT2-I group. Results were consistent when analyses were stratified by age and sex. While higher drug-related costs in the adherent group were counterbalanced by decreased hospitalisation costs in SGLT2-I treated patients, this was not the case for GLP1-RA.

CONCLUSIONS

Higher adherence to drug treatment with GLP1-RA and SGLT2-I during the first year of the drug intake is associated with a lower incidence of adverse clinical outcomes in a real-world setting.

Once-weekly insulins: a promising approach to reduce the treatment burden in people with diabetes

Despite the availability of new classes of glucose-lowering drugs that improve glycaemic levels and minimise long-term complications, at least 20-25% of people with type 2 diabetes require insulin therapy. Moreover, a substantial proportion of these individuals do not achieve adequate metabolic control following insulin initiation. This is due to several factors: therapeutic inertia, fear of hypoglycaemia and/or weight gain, poor communication, complexity of insulin titration, and the number of injections needed, with the associated reduced adherence to insulin therapy. Once-weekly insulins provide a unique opportunity to simplify basal insulin therapy and to allow good glycaemic control with a low risk of hypoglycaemia. Several approaches to developing a stable and effective once-weekly insulin have been proposed, but, to date, insulin icodec and basal insulin Fc (insulin efsitora alfa) are the only two formulations for which clinical studies have been reported. The results of Phase I and II studies emphasise both efficacy (in term of glucose levels) and potential risks and adverse events. Phase III studies involving insulin icodec are reassuring regarding the risk of hypoglycaemia compared with daily basal insulin analogues. Despite some concerns raised in ongoing clinical trials, the available data suggest that weekly insulins may also be an option for individuals with type 1 diabetes, especially when adherence is suboptimal. For the first time there is an opportunity to make an important breakthrough in basal insulin therapy, particularly in people with type 2 diabetes, and to improve not only the quality of life of people with diabetes, but also the practice of diabetologists.

Advancements in pharmacological treatment of NAFLD/MASLD: a focus on metabolic and liver-targeted interventions

In the present narrative review, we have summarized evidence on the pharmacological treatment of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD)/metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD). We start by reviewing the epidemiology of the condition and its close association with obesity and type 2 diabetes. We then discuss how randomized-controlled trials are performed following guidance from regulatory agencies, including differences and similarities between requirements of the US Food and Drug Administration and the European Medicine Agency. Difficulties and hurdles related to limitations of liver biopsy, a large number of screening failures in recruiting patients, as well as unpredictable response rates in the placebo group are evaluated. Finally, we recapitulate the strategies employed for potential drug treatments of this orphan condition. The first is to repurpose drugs that originally targeted T2DM and/or obesity, such as pioglitazone, glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor agonists (liraglutide and semaglutide), multi-agonists (tirzepatide and retatrutide), and sodium-glucose transporter 2 inhibitors. The second is to develop drugs specifically targeting NAFLD/MASLD. Among those, we focused on resmetirom, fibroblast growth factor 21 analogs, and lanifibranor, as they are currently in Phase 3 of their clinical trial development. While many failures have characterized the field of pharmacological treatment of NAFLD/MASLD in the past, it is likely that approval of the first treatments is near. As occurs in many chronic conditions, combination therapy might lead to better outcomes. In the case of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis, we speculate that drugs treating underlying metabolic co-morbidities might play a bigger role in the earlier stages of disease, while liver-targeting molecules will become vital in patients with more advanced disease in terms of inflammation and fibrosis.

Development of a New Model of Insulin Sensitivity in Patients With Type 2 Diabetes and Association With Mortality

CONTEXT

Despite being one of the major drivers of diabetes incidence, the degree of insulin resistance in patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D) is not usually evaluated in clinical practice or in large epidemiologic studies.

OBJECTIVE

To identify a model of insulin sensitivity using widely available clinical and laboratory parameters in patients with T2D and evaluate its association with all-cause and cardiovascular mortality.

METHODS

One hundred forty patients with T2D underwent a euglycemic hyperinsulinemic clamp to measure total body glucose disposal rate (mg kg-1 minute-1). We used demographic, clinical, and common laboratory parameters to estimate insulin sensitivity (IS) via stepwise linear regression on 85 patients (training cohort) and validated it in the remaining 55 (validation cohort). The identified equation was then applied to 3553 patients with T2D from the 1999-2010 cycles of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) to evaluate its association with all-cause and cardiovascular mortality up to December 2015.

RESULTS

The best model included triglycerides, gamma glutamyl transpeptidase, albumin excretion rate, and body mass index. The identified IS score correlated well with the clamp-derived glucose disposal rate in both the training (r = 0.77, P < .001) and the validation (r = 0.74, P < .001) cohorts. In the NHANES cohort, after a median follow-up of 8.3 years, 1054 patients died, 265 of cardiovascular causes. In a multivariable Cox proportional hazard model adjusted for age, sex, race-ethnicity, education, cigarette smoke, total cholesterol, chronic kidney disease, blood pressure, prevalent cardiovascular disease, and alcohol consumption, a higher estimated IS was associated with a lower risk of both all-cause and cardiovascular mortality.

CONCLUSION

We propose a new model of IS in patients with T2D based on readily available clinical and laboratory data. Its potential applications are in both diagnosis as well as prognostication.

Impact of MASLD and MetALD on clinical outcomes: A meta-analysis of preliminary evidence

A recent Delphi consensus proposed a new definition for metabolic dysfunction associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) and introduced a disease entity called MetALD, a condition in which steatotic liver disease (SLD), metabolic dysfunction and moderate alcohol intake coexist. Given the limited available data on the prognostic implications of these disease entities, we performed a systematic review and meta-analysis of available cohort studies to evaluate the association of MASLD and MetALD with hard clinical outcomes. We included 5 studies for a total of 9 824 047 participants. Compared with participants without SLD, increased rates of all-cause mortality and incident cardiovascular disease were present for both MASLD and MetALD. Moreover, MetALD was also associated with significantly higher risks of cancer-related mortality (n = 2 studies, random-effects HR 2.10, 95% CI 1.35-3.28) and cardiovascular mortality (n = 3 studies, random-effects HR 1.17, 95% CI 1.12-1.22). Although preliminary, available evidence indicates a more unfavourable prognosis for patients with MetALD compared with those with MASLD.

Liver fibrosis, NT-ProBNP and mortality in patients with MASLD: A population-based cohort study

BACKGROUND & AIM

Liver fibrosis is the strongest predictor of liver-related mortality in many chronic liver diseases. NT-ProBNP is independently associated with cardiovascular mortality in general population settings. Here, we evaluate the relative contribution of non-invasively identified liver fibrosis and NT-ProBNP on all-cause and cardiovascular mortality in patients with metabolic (dysfunction)-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD).

METHODS AND RESULTS

Serum NT-ProBNP levels were measured in 4229 patients with MASLD from the general population without a known history of heart failure that participated in the 1999-2004 cycles of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Presence of liver fibrosis was estimated using the Fibrosis-4 index (FIB-4). We applied Cox proportional hazard models adjusted for cardiovascular risk factors to evaluate the association between NT-ProBNP and FIB-4 levels and all-cause and cardiovascular mortality through December 2019. Mortality was lower for participants with normal levels of both biomarkers, intermediate if a single biomarker was elevated and highest when both were above the chosen threshold. In the multivariable-adjusted models, both elevated FIB-4 (≥2.67) and elevated NT-ProBNP levels (≥125 pg/ml) were independently associated with higher risks of all-cause mortality (HR 2.2, 95 % CI 1.5-3.2 and HR 1.6, 95 % CI 1.4-2.0, respectively) and cardiovascular mortality (HR 2.1, 95 % CI 1.2-3.7 and HR 2.1, 95 % CI 1.5-2.9, respectively). The associations remained consistent in subgroup analyses based on sex, obesity and age.

CONCLUSIONS

Both FIB-4 and NT-ProBNP are independently associated with higher mortality in patients with MASLD. Their combined use might prove useful to risk-stratify patients in clinical practice.

Time trends in liver-related mortality in people with and without diabetes: Results from a population based study

CONTEXT

Patients with diabetes are at increased risk of dying from liver-related events, but little is known on whether this increased risk changed in recent years.

OBJECTIVE

The aim of the present study is to describe time trends in cause-specific liver-related mortality in people with and without diabetes from the general Italian population.

METHODS

Data were retrieved from the healthcare utilization databases of Lombardy, a region of Italy that accounts for about 16% (almost ten million) of its population. Annual cause-specific mortality rates and proportionate mortality were computed among individuals with and without diabetes from 2010 to 2019. Liver-related deaths were categorized as viral, alcohol related and non-viral non-alcohol related (NVNA).

RESULTS

Liver diseases were responsible for 2% and 1% of deaths in people with and without diabetes (2019). Among patients with diabetes, the crude mortality rate for liver diseases decreased from 1.13 to 0.64 deaths per 1,000 person-years from 2010 to 2019. The largest proportion of liver-related deaths was attributable to NVNA diseases and it increased from 63% in 2010 to 68% in 2019, with a corresponding relative reduction of viral causes (from 27% to 23%). The Standardized Mortality Ratio for patients with diabetes was 3.35 (95% CI 2.96-3.76) for NVNA, 1.66 (95% CI 1.33-2.01) for viral hepatitis and 1.61 (95% CI 1.13-2.17) for alcoholic liver disease and it remained relatively stable over time. Excess mortality risk in patients with diabetes for liver-related mortality was higher than for cardiovascular mortality and cancer.

CONCLUSION

While liver-related mortality rates decreased significantly among patients with diabetes, NVNA causes comprised the majority of cases. Excess mortality for liver-related causes in patients with diabetes compared with controls remained constant in the studied period.

Liver stiffness is associated with all-cause mortality in patients with NAFLD: A systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

Several studies reported an association between liver stiffness measurement (LSM) obtained through vibration-controlled transient elastography (VCTE) and all-cause mortality in patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). The objective of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to summarize available evidence on the nature and magnitude of this association.

METHODS

We systematically searched PubMed-MEDLINE and Scopus up to April 2023 for observational cohort studies in which LSM was measured with VCTE in patients with NAFLD or in general population settings, with a follow-up ≥1 year and with available data on all-cause mortality. Measures of association from individual studies were meta-analysed using random effects models. Of the 517 titles initially scrutinized, we included seven studies with data on 18 771 participants (47.1% male) and a mean follow-up of 3.6 years. We included effect estimates obtained in the models with the highest degree of adjustment for potential confounders available in each study.

RESULTS

When analysed as a categorical variable based on specific LSM cut-offs, liver fibrosis was associated with an increased risk of all-cause death (HR 2.10, 95% CI 1.56-2.83; test for overall effect z = 4.919, p < 0.001). Results were consistent when LSM was considered as a continuous variable (HR for 1 kPa increase: 1.03, 95% CI 1.01-1.05; test for overall effect z = 3.341, p = 0.001). There was borderline significant heterogeneity among the studies (I2  = 50.2% and I2  = 66.7% in the two analyses, respectively). No significant publication bias was detected by funnel plot analysis and Egger's and Begg's tests.

CONCLUSION

The present meta-analysis indicates that LSM, as a proxy of liver fibrosis, is independently and directly associated with a higher mortality risk in patients with NAFLD.

Exploring the landscape of steatotic liver disease in the general US population

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE

The aim of the present study is to explore the epidemiologic impact of the definition of steatotic liver disease (SLD) proposed by a multi-society (American Association for the Study of the Liver-the European Association for the Study of Liver Diseases-Asociación Latinoamericana para el Estudio del Hígado) Delphi consensus statement.

METHODS

This is a cross-sectional study of US adults participating in the 2017-2020 cycles of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey who were evaluated by vibration-controlled transient elastography. Hepatic steatosis and fibrosis were diagnosed by the median value of controlled attenuation parameter and liver stiffness measurement using cut-offs of 274 dB/m and 8.0 kPa, respectively. Recently proposed criteria for metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD), MetALD (MASLD + significant alcohol consumption), MASLD-Viral hepatitis and cryptogenic SLD were applied.

RESULTS

SLD was present in 42.1% (95% CI: 40.3-43.9) of the 3173 included participants. Among patients with SLD, 99.4% met the metabolic dysfunction definition. Moreover, 89.4%, 7.7%, 2.4%, 0.4% and 0.1% were defined as MASLD, MetALD, MASLD-Viral, alcoholic liver disease (ALD) (significant alcohol consumption without metabolic dysfunction) and cryptogenic, respectively. No patients without metabolic dysfunction had significant liver fibrosis, which was present in 15.2%, 9.5% and 19.5% of patients with MASLD, MetALD and MASLD-viral, respectively. Approximately, 90% of the overall adult US population could be diagnosed with metabolic dysfunction according to the consensus criteria. A high degree of concordance was found between MASLD and the previously proposed metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease definition.

CONCLUSIONS

Metabolic dysfunction is present in almost all patients with SLD in the United States. The new change in diagnostic criteria did not significantly impact disease prevalence.

Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes: Screening, Diagnosis, and Treatment

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), recently renamed metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) affects ~70% of patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D), with ~20% showing signs of advanced liver fibrosis. Patients with T2D are at an increased risk of developing cirrhosis, liver failure, and hepatocellular carcinoma and their liver-related mortality is doubled compared with non-diabetic individuals. Nonetheless, the condition is frequently overlooked and disease awareness is limited both among patients and among physicians. Given recent epidemiological evidence, clinical practice guidelines recommend screening for NAFLD/MASLD and advanced liver fibrosis in patients with T2D. While many drugs are currently being tested for the treatment of NAFLD/MASLD, none of them have yet received formal approval from regulatory agencies. However, several classes of antidiabetic drugs (namely pioglitazone, sodium-glucose transporter 2 inhibitors, glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor agonists, and multi-agonists) have shown favorable effects in terms of liver enzymes, liver fat content and, in some occasions, on histologic features such as inflammation and fibrosis. Therefore, diabetologists have the opportunity to actively treat NAFLD/MASLD, with a concrete possibility of changing the natural history of the disease. In the present narrative review, we summarize evidence and clinical recommendations for NAFLD/MAFLD screening in the setting of T2D, as well as on the effect of currently available glucose-lowering drugs on hepatic endpoints.

Differential Association of Sex Hormones with Metabolic Parameters and Body Composition in Men and Women from the United States

Sex hormones impact body composition. Data on the specific impact of each hormone on different body depots in men and women are scarce. The aim of this study is to evaluate the association between testosterone, estradiol and body fat distribution in the general population. This is a population-based cross-sectional study based on data from the 2013-2016 cycles of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) and liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry were performed on participants aged 18-59 years to evaluate body composition and sex hormone levels, respectively. Weighted multivariable linear regression analyses were performed to evaluate the association between these parameters after adjustment for potential confounders. A total of 6655 participants (3309 males and 3346 females) was included in the analysis. Men with lower testosterone levels were older, had a higher body mass index (BMI) and had a generally unfavorable metabolic profile, while no specific trends were found in women. Among men, testosterone was positively associated with lean body mass and was negatively associated with fat mass and the android/gynoid (A/G) ratio, while an opposite trend was found for estradiol. Among women, testosterone did not impact body composition, while estradiol levels were positively associated with lean mass and were negatively associated with fat mass. Our results support the notion that the impact of different sex hormones on specific fat depots varies substantially between men and women.

Noninvasive identification of probable fibrotic nonalcoholic steatohepatitis across the spectrum of glucose tolerance in the United States

AIM

Identifying patients with fibrotic nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is crucial in order to refer them to specialist care as fibrotic NASH represents one of the major inclusion criteria for clinical trials. The aim of this study is to report the prevalence of fibrotic NASH in the general US population across the spectrum of glucose tolerance and evaluate the performance of the recently proposed Fibrotic NASH Index (FNI).

METHODS

This is a cross-sectional study of US adults participating in the 2017-2020 cycles of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Participants with available data to calculate FNI (which is based on AST, HbA1c and HDL-cholesterol) and with a reliable vibration controlled transient elastography examination were included. We excluded participants with chronic viral hepatitis, significant alcohol consumption or other forms of liver disease. Probable fibrotic NASH was defined as a Fibroscan-AST (FAST) score ≥ 0.35.

RESULTS

We included a total of 6268 participants. The overall prevalence of probable fibrotic NASH was 5.9% (95% CI 5.2-6.7) and it increased progressively from participants with normal glucose tolerance (3.7%, 95% CI 2-9-4.7) to those with diabetes (14.7%, 95% CI 12.1-17.8). The performance of FNI for probable fibrotic NASH was satisfactory in the overall population (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC): 0.93, 95% CI 0.92-0.94) and it maintained a good accuracy also in participants with diabetes (n=1113, AUROC 0.89, 95% CI 0.86-0.92). In all groups it outperformed Fibrosis-4.

CONCLUSIONS

FNI is an easy and reliable test to screen for NASH and its performance is maintained in patients with diabetes, a condition that was shown to negatively influence the performance of several non-invasive scores.

Serum neurofilament light chain levels are associated with all-cause mortality in the general US population

INTRODUCTION

Serum neurofilament light chain (sNfL) levels are biomarkers of neuro-axonal injury in multiple neurological diseases. Little is known on their potential role as prognostic markers in people without known neurological conditions.

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study is to evaluate the association between sNfL levels and all-cause mortality in a general population setting.

METHODS

sNfL levels were measured in 2071 people aged 25-75 years from the general US population that participated in the 2013-2014 cycles of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). Cognitive function was evaluated in a subset of participants aged 60-75 years using the Consortium to Establish a Registry for Alzheimer's Disease-Word Learning test, the Animal Fluency test and the Digit Symbol Substitution test. We applied Cox proportional hazard models adjusted for several potential confounders to evaluate the association between sNfL and all-cause mortality through December 2019 by linking NHANES data with data from the National Death Index.

RESULTS

In a cross-sectional analysis, higher sNfL levels were associated with worse performance in all three cognitive function tests. Over a median follow-up of 6.1 years, 85 participants died. In a multivariable model adjusted for age, sex, race-ethnicity, diabetes, chronic kidney disease, harmful alcohol consumption, cigarette smoke and prevalent cardiovascular disease, higher sNfL levels were significantly and positively associated with all-cause mortality (HR per unit increase in log-transformed sNfL: 2.46, 95% CI 1.77-3.43, p < 0.001). Results were robust when analyses were stratified according to age, sex, body mass index and kidney function.

CONCLUSION

We found a positive association between sNfL levels and mortality in the general US population. Further studies are needed to understand the biological mechanisms underlying this association.

Adherence to antidiabetic drug therapy and reduction of fatal events in elderly frail patients

BACKGROUND

To evaluate the protective effect of oral antidiabetic drugs in a large cohort of elderly patients with type 2 diabetes differing for age, clinical status, and life expectancy, including patients with multiple comorbidities and short survival.

METHODS

A nested case-control study was carried out by including the cohort of 188,983 patients from Lombardy (Italy), aged ≥ 65 years, who received ≥ 3 consecutive prescriptions of antidiabetic agents (mostly metformin and other older conventional agents) during 2012. Cases were the 49,201 patients who died for any cause during follow-up (up to 2018). A control was randomly selected for each case. Adherence to drug therapy was measured by considering the proportion of days of the follow-up covered by the drug prescriptions. Conditional logistic regression was used to model the risk of outcome associated with adherence to antidiabetic drugs. The analysis was stratified according to four categories of the clinical status (good, intermediate, poor, and very poor) differing for life expectancy.

RESULTS

There was a steep increase in comorbidities and a marked reduction of the 6-year survival from the very good to the very poor (or frail) clinical category. Progressive increase in adherence to treatment was associated with a progressive decrease in the risk of all-cause mortality in all clinical categories and at all ages (65-74, 75-84 and ≥ 85 years) except for the frail patient subgroup aged ≥ 85 years. The mortality reduction from lowest to highest adherence level showed a tendency to be lower in frail patients compared to the other categories. Similar although less consistent results were obtained for cardiovascular mortality.

CONCLUSIONS

In elderly diabetic patients, increased adherence to antidiabetic drugs is associated with a reduction in the risk of mortality regardless of the patients' clinical status and age, with the exception of very old patients (age ≥ 85 years) in the very poor or frail clinical category. However, in the frail patient category the benefit of treatment appears to be less than in patients in good clinical conditions.

Low 25 (OH) vitamin D levels are associated with increased prevalence of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease and significant liver fibrosis

AIMS

Evidence on the role of 25-Hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) in the occurrence and progression of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is conflicting and population-based data are scarce. Here, we assess the association between 25(OH)D levels, NAFLD and liver fibrosis in the general population.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

This is an analysis of data from the 2017-2018 cycle of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. We included adult participants with available data on vibration-controlled transient elastography (VCTE) and without viral hepatitis and significant alcohol consumption. Steatosis and fibrosis were diagnosed by the median values of controlled attenuation parameter (CAP) and liver stiffness measurement (LSM), respectively. 25(OH)D was measured by high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry.

RESULTS

A total of 3970 participants (1928 men and 2042 women) were included in the study. The prevalence of NAFLD (CAP ≥ 274 dB/m) and significant liver fibrosis (LSM ≥ 8 kPa) were 41.7% (95% CI 39.4-44.0) and 8.4% (95% CI 7.0-9.9), respectively, while 21.1% (95% CI 17.3-25.4) of participants had low 25(OH)D levels (<50 nmol/L). A multivariable logistic regression model adjusted for age, sex, race-ethnicity, body mass index, waist circumference, calendar period, diabetes, chronic kidney disease, and vitamin D supplementation showed that compared with participants with low 25(OH)D, those with optimal levels (≥75 nmol/L) had lower odds of both NAFLD (OR 0.73, 95% CI 0.55-0.98 p = 0.038) and significant liver fibrosis (OR 0.65, 95% CI 0.44-0.96, p = 0.033).

CONCLUSIONS

An inverse relationship was found between 25(OH)D and NAFLD and fibrosis, suggesting a possible role of vitamin D in NAFLD occurrence and progression.

Trends in prevalence of probable fibrotic non-alcoholic steatohepatitis in the United States, 1999-2016

Data are limited on the epidemiology of fibrotic non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). We applied the recently proposed Fibrotic NASH Index (FNI) to estimate trends in the prevalence of probable fibrotic NASH in the general United States population using data from the 1999-2016 cycles of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. A total of 40 273 participants aged 20 years and older were included in the analysis. The prevalence of probable fibrotic NASH (FNI ≥0.33) in the overall population was 8.4% (95% CI 8.0-8.8), with higher values found in males and in Hispanic participants. It increased from 6.9% (95% CI 6.3-7.6) in 1999-2004 to 9.2% (95% CI 8.4-10.0) in 2011-2016. This positive trend was evident in both sexes and in participants with obesity and diabetes. Finally, it increased progressively with increasing age, body mass index and worse glucose tolerance. NASH prevalence is increasing in the general US population, synchronous with increasing rates of obesity and type 2 diabetes.

Diabetes Mellitus is Associated With Higher Serum Neurofilament Light Chain Levels in the General US Population

CONTEXT

Serum neurofilament light chain (sNfL) levels are biomarkers of neuroaxonal injury in multiple neurological diseases.

OBJECTIVE

Given the paucity of data on the distribution of sNfL levels in the general population, in the present study we identified predictors of sNfL levels in a community setting and investigated the association between diabetes and sNfL.

METHODS

sNfL levels were measured in 2070 people aged 20 to 75 years from the general US population (275 with and 1795 without diabetes) that participated in the 2013-2014 cycle of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. We evaluated the association between diabetes and sNfL levels after adjustment for age, sex, race-ethnicity, alcohol use, and kidney function using a multivariable linear regression model. Cognitive function was evaluated in a subset of participants aged 60 to 75 years using the Consortium to Establish a Registry for Alzheimer's Disease-Word Learning test, the Animal Fluency test, and the Digit Symbol Substitution test.

RESULTS

The weighted prevalence of diabetes was 10.4% (95% CI, 9.0-11.9). In each age stratum, patients with diabetes exhibited higher sNfL levels compared with nondiabetic participants. Age, proportion of males, prevalence of diabetes, and homeostatic model of insulin resistance increased progressively across quartiles of sNfL levels in the overall population, whereas estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) showed an opposite trend. In the multivariable model, age, sex, eGFR, alcohol use and diabetes were significantly associated with sNfL levels. Moreover, higher sNfL levels were associated with worse performance in all 3 cognitive function tests.

CONCLUSION

Diabetes is associated with higher sNfL. Further large-scale and prospective studies are needed to replicate our results and evaluate the ability of sNfL to predict the incidence of neuropathy and dementia in this patient population.

Adherence of systematic reviews to Cochrane RoB2 guidance was frequently poor: a meta epidemiological study

OBJECTIVES

To assess whether the use of the revised Cochrane risk of bias tool for randomized trials (RoB2) in systematic reviews (SRs) adheres to RoB2 guidance.

METHODS

We searched MEDLINE, Embase, Cochrane Library from 2019 to May 2021 to identify SRs using RoB2. We analyzed methods and results sections to see whether risk of bias was assessed at outcome measure level and applied to primary outcomes of the SR as per RoB2 guidance. The relation between SR characteristics and adequacy of RoB2 use was examined by logistic regression analysis.

RESULTS

Two hundred-eight SRs were included. We could assess adherence in 137 SRs as 12 declared using RoB2 but actually used RoB1 and 59 did not report the number of primary outcomes. The tool usage was adherent in 69.3% SRs. Considering SRs with multiple primary outcomes, adherence dropped to 28.8%. We found a positive association between RoB2 guidance adherence and the methodological quality of the reviews assessed by AMSTAR2 (p-for-trend 0.007). Multivariable regression analysis suggested journal impact factor [first quartile vs. other quartiles] was associated with RoB2 adherence (OR 0.34; 95% CI: 0.16-0.72).

CONCLUSIONS

Many SRs did not adhere to RoB2 guidance as they applied the tool at the study level rather than at the outcome measure level. Lack of adherence was more likely among low and very low quality reviews.

NT-ProBNP and mortality across the spectrum of glucose tolerance in the general US population

Background

Even though hyperglycemia is a well-known cardiovascular risk factor, the absolute risk of cardiovascular events varies to a great extent within each glycemic category. The aim of this study is to evaluate whether N-terminal pro-B natriuretic peptide (NT-ProBNP) could help identify subjects at higher cardiovascular risk, independently of blood glucose levels.

Methods

Serum NT-ProBNP levels were measured in 5502 people aged 45–79 years without heart failure from the general population (3380 with normoglycemia, 1125 with pre-diabetes and 997 with diabetes) that participated in the 1999–2004 cycles of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. We applied Cox and Fine Gray models adjusted for cardiovascular risk factors to evaluate the association between NT-ProBNP levels and all-cause and cardiovascular mortality through December 2015.

Results

After a median follow-up of 13 years, 1509 participants died, 330 of cardiovascular causes. In the multivariable-adjusted models, compared with participants with NT-ProBNP < 100 pg/ml, those with levels 100–300 pg/ml and ≥ 300 pg/ml had a higher incidence of both all-cause mortality (HR 1.61, 95% CI 1.12–2.32, p = 0.012 and HR 2.96, 95% CI 1.75–5.00, p < 0.001, respectively) and cardiovascular mortality (HR 1.57, 95% CI 1.17–2.10, p = 0.011 and HR 2.08, 95% CI 1.47–2.93, p < 0.001, respectively). The association was consistent in subgroup analyses based on glycemic status, obesity, age and sex.

Conclusions

Elevated NT-ProBNP is independently associated with all-cause and cardiovascular mortality in the general population and could help identify patients at the highest risk. Further studies are needed to evaluate whether intensification of treatment based on biomarker data might lead to improvements in cardiovascular risk reduction.

Glycated albumin is associated with all-cause and cardiovascular mortality among U.S. adults with and without diabetes: A retrospective cohort study

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

Glycated albumin (GA) reflects short-term glycemic control, but few data are available on its association with hard clinical outcomes. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the association between GA levels and all-cause and cardiovascular mortality in people with and without a previous diagnosis of diabetes.

METHODS AND RESULTS

Serum GA levels were measured in 12147 people from the general population (1319 with and 10828 without diabetes) that participated in the 1999-2004 cycles of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). We evaluated the association between GA and all-cause and cardiovascular mortality through December 2015 by linking NHANES data with data from the National Death Index. Associations were compared with those observed for hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c). After a median follow-up of 13 years, 2785 participants (619 with and 2166 without diabetes) died, 651 of cardiovascular causes. Multivariable-adjusted Cox proportional hazard models showed that higher baseline GA levels were significantly associated with a higher incidence of both outcomes in participants with (all-cause: HR 1.03, 95% CI 1.01-1.04; cardiovascular: HR 1.04, 95% CI 1.02-1.07) and without diabetes (all-cause: HR 1.05, 95% CI 1.03-1.08; cardiovascular: HR: 1.08, 95% CI 1.02-1.14); on the other hand, we found a trend for increased mortality with increasing HbA1c levels in patients with known diabetes, but not in participants without.

CONCLUSIONS

For a novel measure of hyperglycemia to be considered useful, its association with hard, long term clinical outcomes is of great importance. We showed that GA is associated with mortality in the general population independently of a previous diagnosis of diabetes.

Twenty-year trends in heart failure among U.S. adults, 1999-2018: The growing impact of obesity and diabetes

BACKGROUND

The aim of this study is to evaluate trends in heart failure (HF) prevalence, impact of accompanying risk factors and use of effective therapeutic regimens during the last two decades in the general adult US population.

METHODS

We analyzed data obtained from the 1999-2018 cycles of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). Among a total of 34,403 participants 40 years or older who attended the mobile examination center visit, 1690 reported a diagnosis of HF. Trends in participant features across calendar periods were assessed by linear regression for continuous variables and logistic regression for binary variables.

RESULTS

Prevalence of self-reported HF did not change significantly from 1999 to 2002 to 2015-2018 (~3.5%), while obesity and diabetes showed a progressive increase in prevalence, affecting ~65% and ~ 45% of patients with HF in the most recent calendar period, respectively. In parallel, use of glucose lowering drugs (especially metformin and insulin) as well as statins increased from 1999 to 2010, with significant improvement of the lipid control. A modest improvement in blood pressure control was achieved in association with a significant increase in the use of angiotensin receptor blockers and beta-blockers.

CONCLUSIONS

In the last 20 years, the prevalence of HF in US adults remained stable, while both obesity and diabetes increased, with the two conditions affecting half of patients with HF. Improvements in the control of dyslipidemia and, to a lesser extent, blood pressure, was detected; nonetheless, a significant gap remains in guideline-directed use of HF and diabetes medications.

Impact of the new definition of metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease on detection of significant liver fibrosis in US adolescents

Recently, an expert panel proposed diagnostic criteria for metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) in the pediatric population. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of MAFLD among US adolescents and to investigate whether the new MAFLD definition is able to identify individuals with more advanced liver disease. We analyzed data from participants 12-18 years old included in the 2017-2020 cycles of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, a large survey aimed at including individuals representative of the non-institutionalized general US population. Participants with a complete vibration-controlled transient elastography exam were included. Steatosis was evaluated through the median controlled attenuation parameter (CAP) and fibrosis through median liver stiffness measurement (LSM). Recently proposed criteria for the diagnosis of MAFLD were applied. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was performed to evaluate the impact of the new MAFLD definition on the odds of significant liver fibrosis. We included a total of 1446 adolescents (mean age: 14.9 years; 52.0% male; 47.3% overweight or obese). No participant reported a previous history of viral hepatitis. Steatosis (CAP ≥ 248 dB/m) was present in 25.9% (95% confidence interval [CI] 23.3-28.9) of individuals, and among these, 87.7% met the MAFLD criteria. Only 22.9% of patients with steatosis had elevated alanine aminotransferase levels. Among participants with steatosis, prevalence of significant liver fibrosis (LSM ≥ 7.4 kPa) did not differ significantly according to whether they met MAFLD criteria (9.7% vs. 15.2%, p = 0.276). In the multivariable model, odds of significant fibrosis did not differ significantly between these two groups. MAFLD criteria are met by most US adolescents with elastographic evidence of steatosis. Nonetheless, these criteria do not appear to improve detection of subjects with more advanced liver disease. Further longitudinal studies are needed to evaluate whether metabolic dysfunction is associated with faster progression toward inflammation, fibrosis, and liver-related events.

Prevalence of elevated liver stiffness in patients with type 1 and type 2 diabetes: A systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND & AIMS

Liver stiffness is an indirect marker of liver fibrosis, which predicts clinical outcomes in patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). The aim of the present systematic review and meta-analysis is to summarize evidence on the prevalence of elevated liver stiffness in patients with diabetes.

METHODS

We systematically searched PubMed-MEDLINE and Scopus from inception to May 2022 for observational studies reporting the prevalence of elevated liver stiffness diagnosed by vibration controlled transient elastography (VCTE) in adult patients with either type 1 (T1D) or type 2 diabetes (T2D). Prevalence values from individual studies were meta-analyzed using random effects models. Subgroup and sensitivity analyses were performed to identify potential sources of heterogeneity.

RESULTS

Of the 428 titles initially scrutinized, 29 studies fulfilled the criteria and were included, providing data on 390 patients with T1D and 10,487 patients with T2D. Prevalence rates of elevated liver stiffness were 5.2% (95% CI 1.1-9.2) in patients with T1D and 19.8% (95% CI 16.8-22.8) in patients with T2D. In studies performed in patients with T2D, multivariate meta-regression analysis showed that higher body mass index, higher age, a higher proportion of males, lower VCTE cut-off and Asian ethnicity were associated with increased prevalence rates. This model explained 32.7% of the observed heterogeneity. No signs of publication bias were identified by visual inspection of the funnel plot or by Egger's test.

CONCLUSIONS

This meta-analysis indicates that 1 in 20 patients with T1D and 1 in 5 patients with T2D has elevated liver stiffness, indicative of potential significant or advanced liver fibrosis.

Peripheral artery disease and all-cause and cardiovascular mortality in patients with NAFLD

PURPOSE

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the first cause of death in patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and risk stratification is recommended by current guidelines. The aim of this study is to assess the prevalence of peripheral arterial disease (PAD) in patients with NAFLD and its association with all-cause and cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality.

METHODS

9145 participants 40 years or older attended a mobile examination center visit in the 1999-2004 cycles of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. PAD was defined as an ankle-brachial index (ABI) < 0.90 in either of the legs and mortality data through December 2015 were obtained from the National Death Index. NAFLD was defined by a fatty liver index ≥ 60 in the absence of other liver conditions, leading to a final sample of 3094 subjects.

RESULTS

The overall prevalence of PAD was 5.9% (95% CI 5.0-6.9). Over a median follow-up of 13 years, 876 participants died, 208 of cardiovascular causes. Incidence rates of all-cause mortality (for 1000 person-years) were 20.2 (95% CI 18.7-21.7) and 70.0 (95% CI 60.1-81.6) for participants without and with PAD, respectively. Multivariable-adjusted Cox proportional hazard models showed that PAD was associated with a higher risk of all-cause (1.8, 95% CI 1.4-2.4) and cardiovascular mortality (HR 2.5, 95% CI 1.5-4.3) after adjustment for potential confounders including prevalent CVD.

CONCLUSION

Current guidelines strongly encourage the screening of CVD in patients with NAFLD and the use of the simple and inexpensive measurement of ABI in routine clinical practice may find indication.

Prolonged Use of Proton Pump Inhibitors and Risk of Type 2 Diabetes: Results From a Large Population-Based Nested Case-Control Study

CONTEXT

It is still debated whether prolonged use of proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) might affect metabolic health.

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the relationship between prolonged use of PPIs and the risk of developing diabetes.

METHODS

We performed a case-control study nested into a cohort of 777 420 patients newly treated with PPIs between 2010 and 2015 in Lombardy, Italy. A total of 50 535 people diagnosed with diabetes until 2020 were matched with an equal number of controls that were randomly selected from the cohort members according to age, sex, and clinical status. Exposure to treatment with PPIs was assessed in case-control pairs based on time of therapy. A conditional logistic regression model was fitted to estimate the odds ratios and 95% CIs for the exposure-outcome association, after adjusting for several covariates. Sensitivity analyses were performed to evaluate the robustness of our findings.

RESULTS

Compared with patients who used PPIs for < 8 weeks, higher odds of diabetes of 19% (95% CI, 15-24), 43% (38-49), and 56% (49-64) were observed among those who used PPIs for between 8 weeks and 6 months, 6 months and 2 years, and > 2 years, respectively. The results were consistent when analyses were stratified according to age, sex, and clinical profile, with higher odds ratios being found in younger patients and those with worse clinical complexity. Sensitivity analyses revealed that the association was consistent and robust.

CONCLUSIONS

Regular and prolonged use of PPIs is associated with a higher risk of diabetes. Physicians should therefore avoid unnecessary prescription of this class of drugs, particularly for long-term use.

Sex-related association of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease and liver fibrosis with body fat distribution in the general US population

BACKGROUND

Few population-based studies have investigated the association between body fat distribution and the risk of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and significant liver fibrosis.

OBJECTIVES

We aimed to evaluate the relations of total body fat and body fat distribution with NAFLD in the general US population.

METHODS

This is a cross-sectional, population-based study based on the 2017-2018 cycle of the NHANES. Participants aged 18-59 y without known liver conditions or significant alcohol consumption were studied by DXA and vibration-controlled transient elastography to assess body composition and liver steatosis and fibrosis, respectively. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was performed to evaluate the contribution of BMI and android:gynoid ratio (A:G ratio) to the prevalence of liver steatosis and fibrosis in males and females.

RESULTS

Weighted prevalence of steatosis was 41.5% and 29.9% among the 1115 males and 1113 females included in the study, respectively, whereas 7.0% of males and 4.0% of females had elastographic evidence of significant liver fibrosis. After adjustment for age, race-Hispanic origin, diabetes, cigarette smoke, and BMI, a higher A:G ratio was associated with increased odds of steatosis in both males (OR: 1.79; 95% CI: 1.07, 2.99; P = 0.029) and females (OR: 1.95; 95% CI: 1.11, 3.41; P = 0.023). Conversely, a significant association between A:G ratio and liver fibrosis was identified in females (OR: 2.09; 95% CI: 1.11, 3.97; P = 0.026), but not in males (OR: 0.56; 95% CI: 0.29, 1.08; P = 0.078).

CONCLUSIONS

Independently from BMI, an android fat deposition pattern is associated with increased prevalence of NAFLD in both sexes, whereas the effect on fibrosis was only evident in females.

Soluble α-Klotho levels, glycemic control and renal function in US adults with type 2 diabetes

AIMS

Soluble Klotho (s-Klotho) is associated with chronic kidney disease (CKD) and aging, but little is known on its relationship with chronic micro- and macro-vascular complications of type 2 diabetes and glycemic control. Here, we evaluate the association between s-Klotho levels, glycemic control and renal function in patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D).

METHODS

This is a cross-sectional study including 2989 patients with T2D and available s-Klotho measurements from the 2007-2016 cycles of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (mean ± SE, age: 60.0 ± 0.2 years, BMI 33.3 ± 0.2 kg/m², 46.7 ± 1.3% female). Determination of s-Klotho concentrations was performed with a sandwich ELISA test.

RESULTS

Patients with higher s-Klotho levels were younger, more frequently female and had a lower prevalence of CKD and higher HbA1c levels. In multivariable linear regression models adjusting for age, race-ethnicity and BMI, both estimated glomerular filtration rate (B = 2.21, 95% CI 1.41-3.01, p < 0.001) and hemoglobin A1c (B = 37.38, 95% CI 28.91-45.86, p < 0.001) were positively associated with s-Klotho, while no significant association was found with cardiovascular disease. Results were confirmed when analyses were performed in men and women separately. No significant differences were identified between patients with an albuminuric or non-albuminuric CKD phenotype.

CONCLUSIONS

s-Klotho levels are dependent on kidney function and glycemic control in patients with T2D. Additional studies elucidating the mechanisms linking glycemic control and s-Klotho levels and exploring their predictive ability of clinically meaningful outcomes in patients with diabetes are needed.

Hepatitis C virus infection and diabetes: A complex bidirectional relationship

Chronic hepatitis C (CHC) and diabetes represent two severe chronic conditions responsible for a considerable number of deaths worldwide. They have a complex, bidirectional relationship. On the one hand, several cohort studies have shown that chronic HCV infection increases both the risk of developing diabetes in non-diabetic subjects (by inducing insulin resistance and promoting β-cell dysfunction) as well as the risk of developing macro and microvascular complications in patients with known diabetes; on the other hand, diabetes is an independent risk factor for liver-related events among patients with CHC, including a higher incidence of hepatocellular carcinoma, liver-related death and transplantation. Importantly, sustained virological response, which can be obtained in the vast majority of patients with the use of direct antiviral agents, does not only lead to a lower rate of liver-related outcomes, but also to improvements of glycemic control and reduction in the rate of complications among patients with diabetes. The aim of this review is to summarize available clinical evidence on the association among CHC, diabetes and related clinical outcomes. We will also briefly discuss the biological mechanisms underpinning the association between CHC and diabetes, as well as the implications this relationship should have on everyday clinical practice.

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease and risk of incident hypertension: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Several studies reported an association between nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and the risk of incident hypertension. The objective of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to obtain a precise and reliable estimate of the nature and magnitude of this association. We systematically searched Ovid-MEDLINE up to March 2021 for observational studies in which NAFLD was diagnosed in adults using blood-based panels, imaging techniques or liver biopsy and with a follow-up ≥1 year. Measures of association from individual studies were meta-analyzed using random-effects models. Of the 1108 titles initially scrutinized, we included 11 cohort studies with data on 390 348 participants (52% male) and a mean follow-up of 5.7 years. In the overall analysis, NAFLD was associated with a moderately increased risk of incident hypertension (hazard ratio 1.66; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.38-2.01; test for overall effect z = 5.266; P < 0.001). There was significant heterogeneity among the studies (P < 0.001). Sensitivity analyses showed that estimates were not affected by geographical location, duration of follow-up and adjustment for baseline blood pressure values. On the other hand, the magnitude of the association was lower in studies that adjusted for baseline adiposity compared with those that did not, explaining part of the observed heterogeneity. No significant publication bias was detected by funnel plot analysis and Egger's and Begg's tests. This large meta-analysis indicates that NAFLD is associated with a ~1.6-fold increased risk of developing hypertension. Further studies are needed to investigate the role of NAFLD severity in terms of inflammation and fibrosis on incident hypertension.

Advances in fibrosis biomarkers in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) affects a quarter of the adult world population and the degree of liver fibrosis represents the best predictor of the development of liver-related outcomes. Easily applicable and well performing non-invasive fibrosis tests can overcome the limitations of liver biopsy and are of paramount importance to identify at-risk subjects in clinical practice. While tests with optimal performance and ease of use do not exist at this stage, available markers can be divided in three broad groups: simple serum tests, complex serum tests and elastographic methods. Simple scores (such as Fibrosis-4 and NAFLD Fibrosis Score) are based on readily available biochemical data and clinical features, while complex/proprietary tests (such as Fibrotest, Enhanced Liver Fibrosis and Hepascore) directly measure markers of fibrogenesis and fibrolysis, but have higher costs. Elastography techniques estimate the degree of fibrosis from liver stiffness and are based on either ultrasound or magnetic resonance (MR) imaging. MR elastography has better performance compared with sonographic techniques and is not affected by obesity and inflammation, but is highly costly and less available. In general, non-invasive tests are able to exclude the presence of fibrosis, but their positive predictive value is low to moderate and they lead to a high number of indeterminate results. In this context, a combination of different tests might increase accuracy while reducing gray-zone results. Their ability to predict future events and response to treatment is suboptimal and needs to be studied further. Finally, recent studies have tried different approaches, spanning from "omics" to the microbiome and micro-RNAs, with some promising results.

Comparing medication persistence among patients with type 2 diabetes using sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitors or glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists in real-world setting

AIM

To assess and compare the persistence with drug therapy between patients treated with glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP1-RA) and sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitors (SGLT2-I) therapy.

METHODS

The 126,493 residents of the Lombardy Region (Italy) aged ≥ 40 years newly treated with metformin during 2007-2015 were followed until 2017 to identify those who started therapy with GLP1-RA or SGLT2-I. To make GLP1-RA and SGLT2-I users more comparable, a 1:1 matched cohort design was adopted. Matching variables were sex, age, and adherence to the first-line therapy with metformin. Log-binomial regression models were fitted to estimate the propensity to 1-year treatment persistence in relation to the therapeutic strategy.

RESULTS

The final matched cohort was composed by 1,276 GLP1-RA─SGLT2-I pairs. About 24% and 29% of cohort members respectively on GLP1-RA and SGLT2-I discontinued the drug treatment. Compared with patients starting SGLT2-I, those on GLP1-RA had 15% (95% confidence interval, 3-25%) lower risk of discontinuation of the treatments of interest and 45% (28-57%) lower risk of discontinuing any antidiabetic drug therapy. Persistence was better among GLP1-RA users who received a once-weekly administration.

CONCLUSIONS

In a real-life setting, patients who were prescribed a GLP1-RA exhibited more frequently better persistence to treatment than those prescribed a SGLT2-I therapy.

Metabolic Syndrome, and Not Obesity, Is Associated with Chronic Kidney Disease

INTRODUCTION

Obese (OB) patients are at increased risk of chronic kidney disease, but it is still unclear whether this can be attributed to obesity per se or to the associated metabolic derangements. The aim of this study was to evaluate the relative impact of obesity and metabolic syndrome (MS) on kidney disease.

METHODS

This is a cross-sectional study based on data obtained in the 2005-2016 cycles of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. We included all adult participants with available data on body mass index, estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), urine albumin to creatinine ratio (UACR), and each of the MS components. Primary outcomes were eGFR <60 mL/min, UACR ≥30 mg/g, or a combination of the two.

RESULTS

The studied population comprised 12,335 participants. OB participants without MS (OB+ MS-) were younger and more commonly female. After adjustment for potential confounders, compared with OB- MS- participants, an increased prevalence of albuminuria and reduced eGFR were present in both OB- MS+ groups and the OB+ MS+ groups, but not in the OB+ MS- groups. When each of the MS components was evaluated separately, elevated blood pressure and low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol were associated with both UACR and reduced eGFR, while elevated blood glucose and triglycerides were only associated with UACR. Waist circumference was not associated with any of the renal outcomes.

DISCUSSION/CONCLUSION

This large cross-sectional study suggests that MS and not obesity is associated with kidney damage and that the OB+ MS- phenotype does not seem to carry an increased risk of kidney disease.

Statin use is associated with lower prevalence of advanced liver fibrosis in patients with type 2 diabetes

BACKGROUND

Patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D) are at increased risk of both cardiovascular disease (CVD) and advanced liver fibrosis related to non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Statin use is known to reduce the incidence of CVD while evidence on an effect on NAFLD severity is limited.

METHODS

This is a cross-sectional study performed with data from the 2017-2018 cycle of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). The target population consisted in adult patients with T2D and reliable vibration-controlled transient elastography (VCTE) results. Presence of liver fibrosis and steatosis were assessed by the median values of liver stiffness measurement (LSM) and controlled attenuation parameter (CAP), respectively. Patients with evidence of viral hepatitis and significant alcohol consumption were excluded. Logistic regression analysis was performed to evaluate the association between statin treatment and both steatosis and advanced (≥F3) liver fibrosis after adjustment for potential confounders.

RESULTS

The study population consisted in 744 patients (age: 61 ± 1 years, BMI: 33.3 ± 0.5 kg/m²). NAFLD (CAP≥274 dB/m) was present in 74.9% of patients (95% CI 69.2-79.8) and 14.5% (95% CI 10.8-19.2) had advanced fibrosis (LSM ≥ 9.7 kPa). After adjustment for age, sex, race-ethnicity, BMI, albumin, total cholesterol, HbA1c, triglycerides and liver enzymes, statin use was associated with lower odds of advanced fibrosis (OR 0.35, 95% CI 0.13-0.90, p = 0.03). No significant interaction was found between statin use and steatosis.

CONCLUSION

Given the absence of approved therapies for NAFLD-fibrosis, it would be reasonable to initiate specific randomized controlled trials with statins.

Blood pressure, glycemic status and advanced liver fibrosis assessed by transient elastography in the general United States population

OBJECTIVE

Few studies investigated the role of different predictors of advanced liver fibrosis in unselected populations. Here, we estimate the prevalence of steatosis and fibrosis in the general United States population by means of transient elastography and evaluate the impact of blood pressure (BP) and diabetes on disease severity.

METHODS

This is a cross-sectional study of United States adults participating in the 2017-2018 cycle of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Participants underwent a transient elastography examination, and liver steatosis and fibrosis were estimated through the controlled attenuation parameter (CAP) score and liver stiffness measurement (LSM), respectively.

RESULTS

Four thousand, three hundred and seventy-one participants had reliable transient elastography and BP readings. Steatosis (CAP ≥ 248 dB/m), advanced fibrosis (LSM ≥ 9.6 kPa) and cirrhosis (LSM ≥ 13 kPa) were present in 56.9, 5.5 and 2.9% of participants, respectively. After controlling for potential confounders, risk of steatosis increased proportionally going from participants with optimal (reference) to those with normal [odds ratio (OR) 1.24, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.83-1.86], high normal (OR 1.41, 95% CI 1.01-1.97) and elevated BP (OR 1.64, 95% CI 1.21-2.21), whereas no significant association was found between BP status and liver fibrosis. Conversely, presence of diabetes increased the risk of both steatosis (OR 2.15, 95% CI 1.49-3.11) and advanced fibrosis (OR 2.25, 95% CI 1.36-3.72).

CONCLUSION

Liver steatosis and fibrosis are highly prevalent in the multiethnic United States adult population, raising concerns for future incidence of cirrhosis and its complications. BP status was associated with a progressively higher risk of steatosis, whereas obesity and diabetes were consistently associated with both steatosis and fibrosis.

NAFLD and Liver Fibrosis Are Not Associated With Reduced Femoral Bone Mineral Density in the General US Population

CONTEXT

It is still debated whether nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) may be a risk factor for reduced bone mineral density (BMD), and it is not known whether liver fibrosis, the major predictor of future development of liver-related events in NAFLD, has an influence on BMD.

OBJECTIVE

To assess whether liver steatosis and fibrosis are associated with reduced BMD in the general US population.

METHODS

We performed a cross-sectional analysis of the population-based 2017-2018 cycle of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), in which vibration-controlled transient elastography (VCTE) and dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA) of the femoral neck were simultaneously available. Controlled attenuation parameter (CAP) ≥ 274 dB/m was considered indicative of liver steatosis, while a median liver stiffness measurement (LSM) ≥ 8 kPa indicated the presence of significant liver fibrosis. We included all participants older than 50 years with reliable VCTE and femoral neck DXA results (925 men and 859 women). The main outcome measures were femoral neck BMD values indicative of osteopenia or osteoporosis.

RESULTS

Steatosis and significant fibrosis were highly prevalent in the studied population, being present in 53.1% and 9.6% of men and 44.2% and 8.0% of women, respectively. In univariate analysis, liver steatosis was associated with a lower prevalence of osteoporosis in both men and women, while no difference was noted according to the degree of liver fibrosis. After adjustment for potential confounders, including age, BMI, race/ethnicity, cigarette smoking, and diabetes, neither CAP nor LSM were significantly associated with reduced BMD in both sexes.

CONCLUSION

Liver steatosis and fibrosis are not associated with femoral DXA-based diagnosis of osteopenia or osteoporosis in the US population older than 50 years.

Metabolic and Psychological Features are Associated with Weight Loss 12 Months After Sleeve Gastrectomy

CONTEXT

Laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG) is a recognized effective procedure of bariatric surgery, but a poor response in weight loss may still represent a clinical problem. To date there are no validated predictors useful to better perform patient selection.

OBJECTIVE

To establish the association of baseline anthropometric, metabolic, and psychologic features with the percent total weight loss (%TWL) and percent excess weight loss (%EWL) 12 months after surgery.

DESIGN

Retrospective longitudinal analysis of a set of data about obese patients attending the outpatient service of a single obesity center from June 2016 to June 2019.

PATIENTS

A total of 106 obese patients underwent LSG with presurgery evaluation and follow-up at 12 months after surgery.

MAIN OUTCOME

Weight loss 12 months after LSG.

RESULTS

Patients who achieved a %TWL higher than the observed median (≥34%) were younger, with a lower fasting plasma glucose and glycated hemoglobin, with a lower prevalence of hypertension and with a lower score in the impulsiveness scale, compared with patients with a %TWL < 34%. Similar findings were found when %EWL was considered. Multivariable stepwise regression analysis showed that younger age, lower impulsiveness, higher-than-normal urinary free cortisol, and lower HbA1c were associated with higher %TWL, explaining about 31.5% of the weight loss.

CONCLUSION

Metabolic and psychologic features at baseline were independently associated with weight loss and explained a non-negligible effect on the response to LSG. These data suggest that careful metabolic and psychologic profiling could help in sharper indications and personalized pre- and postsurgical follow-up protocols in candidates for LSG.

Current type 2 diabetes, rather than previous gestational diabetes, is associated with liver disease in U.S. Women

AIM

To investigate the relative contribution of previous gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) and current type 2 diabetes (T2D) on the development of liver fibrosis, the strongest predictor of end-stage liver disease.

METHODS

This is a population-based cross-sectional study based on data from the 2017-2018 cycle of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. We included women age ≥ 20 years that had delivered at least one live birth and had available data on vibration-controlled transient elastography (VCTE). Liver steatosis and fibrosis were assessed by the median value of controlled attenuation parameter (CAP) and liver stiffness measurement (LSM), respectively.

RESULTS

Among the 1699 women included in the study, 144 (10.1%, 95% CI 7.7-13.2) reported a previous diagnosis of GDM. Women with previous GDM were younger, had a higher BMI, a higher prevalence of T2D and were significantly older at the time they had the last live birth. Univariate analysis did not show a significant difference between women with and without a prior history of GDM in terms of both steatosis (44.8% vs 39.4%, p = 0.464) and fibrosis (7.5% vs 7.6%, p = 0.854). Multivariable logistic regression analysis showed that BMI, γ-glutamyltranspeptidase levels, T2D (OR 2.96, 95% CI 1.48-5.93, p < 0.01), HBV and HCV infection were associated with higher odds of significant fibrosis, while previous GDM showed a neutral effect.

CONCLUSIONS

Women with previous GDM that do not develop overt T2D might not experience a poor hepatic prognosis.

Prevalence of NAFLD, MAFLD and associated advanced fibrosis in the contemporary United States population

Data are limited on the epidemiological implications of the recent change in terminology from nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) to metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD). We therefore performed a cross-sectional study of adults recruited in the 2017-2018 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, a representative sample of the general US population. The prevalence of NAFLD and MAFLD based on controlled attenuation parameter (CAP) and liver stiffness measurement (LSM) obtained through vibration-controlled transient elastography (VCTE) were 37.1% (95% CI 34.0-40.4) and 39.1% (95% CI 36.3-42.1), respectively, with higher rates among Hispanic individuals. Agreement between the two definitions was high (Cohen's κ 0.92). Patients with NAFLD and MAFLD also showed similar risk of advanced liver fibrosis (7.5% and 7.4% respectively). Our results suggest that the recent change in diagnostic criteria did not affect the prevalence of the condition in the general United States population.

Seasonal variation in estimated cardiovascular risk in patients with type 2 diabetes

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

Seasonal variations in several risk factors for cardiovascular events (CVD) were described. Here, we evaluate the impact of seasonal variations in blood pressure (BP), lipid profile and glycemic control on estimated CVD risk in patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D).

METHODS AND RESULTS

Retrospective monocentric study of patients with T2D who were visited at least once in the winter period and once in the summer period, less than 8 months apart, for which data related to systolic (S) BP, diastolic (D) BP, body mass index, glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c), total cholesterol, HDL cholesterol and smoking habit were available on both occasions. The 10-year CVD risk was calculated using the UKPDS risk engine and the ASCVD risk estimator. As many as 411 patients were included in the study. Significant within-patient differences between summer and winter were found for the absolute risk of events assessed with both calculators (Δs-w UKPDS-CHD: -1.33%, Δs-w UKPDS-Stroke: -0.84%, Δs-w ASCVD: -2.21%). The seasonal change in SBP was the main responsible for the change in risk estimated with both the UKPDS-Stroke (r² = 0.43) and the ASCVD (r² = 0.50) scores, while the change in total cholesterol was the main determinant of the change in risk for the UKPDS-CHD (r² = 0.34). A significant correlation was identified between changes in temperature and changes in SBP (ρ = 0.130, p = 0.008), but not in other risk factors.

CONCLUSIONS

Seasonal variations in the classic CVD risk factors influence the risk estimated using validated calculators.

Lack of awareness of liver organ damage in patients with type 2 diabetes

AIMS

Liver steatosis, a typical finding in patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D), can lead to cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. The aim of the present study is to estimate the awareness of liver disease among patients with T2D and whether it differs according to the degree of liver fibrosis estimated by transient elastography (TE).

METHODS

This is a population-based cross-sectional study. We included all patients with T2D that participated in the 2017-2018 cycle of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey and underwent a TE examination. Presence of liver steatosis and fibrosis was assessed by the median values of controlled attenuation parameter and liver stiffness measurement, respectively.

RESULTS

Among the 825 patients included in the analysis, 8.1% (95% CI 5.1%-12.7%) of patients with steatosis were aware of having a liver condition. Even if awareness increased proportionally with increasing severity of organ damage, it remained limited even among patients with advanced fibrosis (17.9%, 95% CI 8.8%-33.3%).

CONCLUSIONS

Despite increasing evidence of a frequent hepatic involvement associated with poor prognosis, awareness of suffering of advanced liver disease in patients with T2D is remarkably low, likely reflecting little recognition also among the team of health care professionals.