Liver health outcome of chronic hepatic steatosis: an interim analysis of the Dallas Heart Study cohort

Abstract

The natural history of hepatic steatosis and risk factors for the development of advanced chronic liver disease (CLD) are unknown. This interim analysis of 191 subjects in the Dallas Heart Study longitudinal cohort shows that having hepatic steatosis (defined as proton-density fat fraction >5%) at the baseline exam was significantly associated with development of advanced CLD (defined as corrected liver T1 ≥ 800msec) 10-20 years later, with CLD prevalence of 38.8% and 16.9% in the steatosis vs. non-steatosis cohort (p<0.001). The baseline overweight or obesity status also appears to be associated with advanced CLD, independent of having steatosis at baseline.