Insulin‐like growth factor‐1 is inversely associated with liver fibrotic markers in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus

AIMS/INTRODUCTION: Insulin‐like growth factor‐1 (IGF‐1) regulates mitochondrial function, oxidative stress, inflammation, stellate cells and insulin sensitivity in the liver, and it might be associated with liver fibrosis from non‐alcoholic steatohepatitis. In contrast, type 2 diabetes mellitus is closely associated with the progression from non‐alcoholic fatty liver to non‐alcoholic steatohepatitis and cirrhosis, so careful evaluation of liver fibrosis is required for patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Therefore, we examined the relationship between IGF‐1 and liver fibrosis markers in type 2 diabetes patients without obvious alcoholic consumption and determined whether IGF‐1 is associated with fibrosis of non‐alcoholic fatty liver disease. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We selected 415 patients with type 2 diabetes without obvious alcohol consumption, who were admitted to Uwajima City Hospital between May 2013 and December 2016. We collected and analyzed clinical data to determine correlations between IGF‐1 or IGF‐1 standard deviation score and fibrosis‐4 index or 7S domain of type IV collagen. RESULTS: Multiple linear regression analysis showed that the fibrosis‐4 index was inversely correlated with IGF‐1 and IGF‐1 standard deviation score. Furthermore, the 7S domain of type IV collagen was also inversely correlated with IGF‐1 and IGF‐1 standard deviation score. CONCLUSIONS: IGF‐1 was inversely correlated with liver fibrosis markers in type 2 diabetes mellitus patients without obvious alcoholic consumption. Measuring serum IGF‐1 levels might help clinicians to identify type 2 diabetes mellitus patients with advanced non‐alcoholic steatohepatitis.