Comparative analysis of metabolic risk factors for progression of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease

AIM OF THE STUDY: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), a globally prevailing chronic liver condition, refers to a spectrum of disease ranging from bland steatosis to steatohepatitis causing fibrosis without significant alcohol intake. Prominent risk factors (RFs) include obesity, type 2 diabetes mellitus, and dyslipidemia. Currently, no established hierarchy exists for the influence of metabolic RFs on NAFLD progression. This retrospective cohort study investigated and ranked the independent and combined effects of three major RFs on NAFLD progression. MATERIAL AND METHODS: 652 NAFLD patients with ≥ 1 RF were categorized by RF combination to examine yearly changes in RF severity with liver stiffness measurement (LSM) over five years. Body mass index (BMI), hemoglo- bin A(1c) (HbA(1c)), total cholesterol (TC), and LSM were reviewed. RESULTS: In patients with any single improving RF, decreases in BMI were associated with a yearly LSM change of –1.26 kPa, while decreases in HbA(1c) and TC were associated with a change of –0.51 kPa and –0.56 kPa, respectively. In patients with any single worsening RF, increases in BMI were correlated with an LSM change of +0.74 kPa and increases in HbA(1c) and T(C) were correlated with a change of +0.43 kPa and +0.16 kPa, respectively. Patients with three RFs had the greatest LSM changes for both improving (–3.68 kPa) and worsening (+3.19 kPa) groups. The strongest predictors for LSM change were BMI and HbA(1c), with standardized β coefficients of 0.236 and 0.226 (p < 0.001), while TC had the least influence [0.112 (p < 0.01), F(3,647) = 11.458, p < 0.001, R(2) = 0.155]. CONCLUSIONS: Obesity was the most prominent RF. Treatment of all three RFs over a five-year period presented a high likelihood of fibrosis stage regression for NAFLD patients.