High level of fatty liver index predicts new onset of diabetes mellitus during a 10-year period in healthy subjects

Abstract

Fatty liver index (FLI), a predictor of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, has been reported to be associated with several metabolic disorders. This study aimed to evaluate the relationship between FLI and new onset of diabetes mellitus (DM). We investigated the association of FLI with new onset of DM during a 10-year period in subjects who received annual health examinations (n = 28,990). After exclusion of subjects with DM at baseline and those with missing data, a total of 12,290 subjects (male/female: 7925/4365) who received health examinations were recruited. FLI was significantly higher in males than in females. During the 10-year period, DM was developed in 533 males (6.7%) and 128 females (2.9%). Multivariable Cox proportional hazard models with a restricted cubic spline showed that the risk of new onset of DM increased with a higher FLI at baseline in both sexes after adjustment of age, fasting plasma glucose, habits of alcohol drinking and current smoking, family history of DM and diagnosis of hypertension and dyslipidemia at baseline. When the subjects were divided into subgroups according to tertiles of FLI level at baseline (T1–T3) in the absence and presence of impaired fasting glucose (IFG), hazard ratios after adjustment of the confounders gradually increased from T1 to T3 and from the absence to presence of IFG in both male and female subjects. In conclusion, a high level of FLI predicts new onset of DM in a general population of both male and female individuals.

Circulating level of fatty acid‐binding protein 4 is an independent predictor of metabolic dysfunction‐associated fatty liver disease in middle‐aged and elderly individuals

“…In the original report about MAFLD, the use of FLI was recommended for detection of hepatic steatosis as a reliable biomarker 4 . Furthermore, there have been several studies showing that FLI is associated with the development of hypertension 54 , diabetes mellitus 55 , chronic kidney disease 56 and heart failure 57 . Third, since the recruited participants were all Japanese, the results obtained in the present study might not be applicable to other races.…”

Fatty Liver Index is a valid predictor of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in pregnancy

“…NAFLD is a known metabolic disease that increases foeto-maternal morbidity and mortality 35. Several authors have developed mathematical models to predict NAFLD in the general population 20 31 32. After validation, some countries started to use the FLI as a screening tool 36 37.…”

“…The FLI is a simple and easy tool that includes waist circumference (WC), body mass index (BMI), serum triglyceride level and serum gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT) to predict FL. It has been validated in several countries, such as Iran, Japan and China, and the results have confirmed that FLI has the ability to separate the NAFLD group from the non-NAFLD group, with an area under the curve (AUC) of >0.8 20 31 32. However, the applicability of FLIs in pregnancy has not been reported in the literature.…”

Fatty liver index for hyperuricemia diagnosis: a community-based cohort study

“…Uric acid levels were positively correlated with the METS-IR, and FLI showed a significant positive correlation with the METS-IR. In addition, previous study have shown that the METS-IR was positively correlated with IR [ 7 ], while those with an elevated METS-IR had a higher risk of developing hypertension [ 33 ] and hypertension in turn increases the risk of HUA [ 26 ].…”

“…In 2006, Bedogni et al developed the fatty liver index (FLI) for the early prediction of fatty liver disease in the general population [ 6 ]. In addition to the definite predictive role of the FLI on fatty liver disease, several studies have suggested that the FLI correlates to the development of metabolic syndrome and its components and even has an early warning effect [ 7 – 10 ] on cardiovascular disease.…”