Gender differences in the ideal cutoffs of visceral fat area for predicting MAFLD in China

Abstract

Background Since the discovery of metabolic-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) in 2020, no report on the connection between the visceral fat area (VFA) and MAFLD has been published in China, and the ideal cutoffs of VFA for predicting MAFLD has not been determined so far. Thus, the purpose of this research was to clarify the relationship between VFA and MAFLD and the ideal cutoffs of VFA to predict MAFLD in the Chinese population. Methods Five thousand three hundred forty subjects were included in this research, with 30% randomly selected for the validation set (n = 1602) and 70% for the Training set (n = 3738). The association between VFA and MAFLD was determined by multiple logistic regression. ROC curves were used to evaluate the prediction effect of VFA on MAFLD. Results Multiple logistic regression analysis revealed that the VFA ORs (95% CIs) were 1.25 (1.20, 1.29) for women and 1.15 (1.12, 1.17) for men. Meanwhile, the VFA quartile OR (95% CI) were 3.07 (1.64, 5.75), 7.22 (3.97, 13.14), 18.91 (10.30, 34.71) for women and 3.07 (1.64, 5.75), 7.22 (3.97, 13.14),18.91 (10.30, 34.71) for men in the Q2, Q3, and Q4 groups compared with Q1. The ROC curve showed the VFA, WC, WHR, and WHtR to predict MAFLD, the AUC value of VFA was the highest and the prediction effect was the best. The ideal cutoffs of VFA to predict MAFLD was 115.55 cm2 for women and 178.35 cm2 for men, and the AUC was 0.788 and 0.795, respectively. Finally, the AUC was 0.773 for women and 0.800 for men in the validation set. Conclusion VFA was an independent predictive factor for MAFLD, and the ideal cutoff of VFA to predict MAFLD was 115.55 cm2 in women and 178.35 cm2 in men.

Four hepatic steatosis indices in predicting quantitative computed tomography-based metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease

“…By calculating the liver fat fraction β (%), QCT has been validated to provide an intuitive and accurate estimation of hepatic steatosis. Moreover, the adjusted QCT-β (%) is comparable to proton density fat fraction (PDFF) measured via magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) [21], which is currently the most accurate noninvasive technique for liver fat quantification [3]. The QCT adopts the same grading criteria as MRI-PDFF, that is, the liver fat content (β or PDFF < 5%) is normal; the liver fat content (β or PDFF ≥ 5%, ≥ 14% and ≥ 28%) suggests mild, moderate, to severe fatty liver, respectively [21].…”

“…The scan parameters aligned with our previous study [23]. The scanning and computational processes were carried out as described by Guo et al [21]. Four ROIs with a cross-sectional area of 290-310 mm 2 and a slice thickness of 1 mm were manually selected on the automatically reconstructed 3D images.…”

Assessment of whole-body and regional body fat using abdominal quantitative computed tomography in Chinese women and men

“…Disease like insulin resistance and metabolic-associated fatty liver disease are thought to be significantly increased by high VAT mass [ 31 , 32 ]. The visceral adiposity index, an index for the evaluation of VAT, was found to be associated with aging in a study of 6,252 adults in the USA [ 33 ].…”

SIRT2 Deficiency Aggravates Diet-Induced Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease through Modulating Gut Microbiota and Metabolites

“…Studies have shown that gender plays a role in the onset and severity of NAFLD. Men are at a higher risk of developing NAFLD than women, while women who do develop the disease are more likely to progress to advanced liver fibrosis [25][26][27]. Age is also a significant factor in NAFLD progression, as menopausal women over 50 are particularly susceptible to advanced liver fibrosis [28].…”

“…Gut microbiome exists in a complex consortium of ecological and metabolic interactions [26]. The microorganism association and interaction are critical to maintain the homeostasis of gut microbiota which ultimately influence host digestion, immunity, and metabolism [27].…”