TY - JOUR
T1 - Fatty liver index, gamma-glutamyltransferase, and early carotid plaques
AU - Kozakova, Michaela
AU - Palombo, Carlo
AU - Eng, Marco Paterni
AU - Dekker, Jacqueline M
AU - Flyvbjerg, Allan
AU - Mitrakou, Asimina
AU - Gastaldelli, Amalia
AU - Ferrannini, Ele
AU - RISC Investigators
N1 - Copyright © 2012 American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases.
PY - 2012/5
Y1 - 2012/5
N2 - UNLABELLED: An association between fatty liver and carotid atherosclerosis has been established; however, it is not clear whether this relationship is a consequence of shared conventional risk factors or whether it is determined by specific circulating factors originating from liver or adipose tissue. To identify the factors possibly linking fatty liver and atherosclerosis, we assessed, in 1,012 subjects free of confounding diseases (e.g., hypertension, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and dyslipidemia) and metabolic syndrome, the relationship between the presence of early plaques at carotid bifurcation and fatty liver index (FLI; a validated surrogate marker of fatty liver), as well as the associations between carotid plaque presence and established atherosclerotic risk factors, family history of cardiovascular disease (FH-CVD) or diabetes, insulin sensitivity, serum liver enzymes, adipokines, fatty free acids, and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP). A total of 55 of 1,012 subjects (5.4%) had small plaque at carotid bifurcation. Subjects with plaque were older and had higher prevalence of FLI ≥60 and FH-CVD, higher blood pressure, plasma low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, glucose, gamma-glutamyltransferase (GGT), and hsCRP, as compared to subjects without plaques (P < 0.05). In a logistic regression model, adjusted for sex, liver transaminase, and alcohol consumption, the independent predictors of plaque presence were age (P < 0.0005), FLI ≥60 (P < 0.0005), and current smoking (P < 0.05). When FLI in the model was replaced by variables used in its equation (e.g., body mass index, waist circumference, plasma triglycerides, and GGT), the independent determinants of plaque presence were age (P < 0.001), GGT (P = 0.001), and current smoking (P < 0.05).CONCLUSIONS: Our cross-sectional study suggests that subjects with FLI ≥60 are at higher risk of atherosclerotic lesions, independently of established risk factors, and that serum GGT may represent a link between fatty liver and the development of early atherosclerosis.
AB - UNLABELLED: An association between fatty liver and carotid atherosclerosis has been established; however, it is not clear whether this relationship is a consequence of shared conventional risk factors or whether it is determined by specific circulating factors originating from liver or adipose tissue. To identify the factors possibly linking fatty liver and atherosclerosis, we assessed, in 1,012 subjects free of confounding diseases (e.g., hypertension, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and dyslipidemia) and metabolic syndrome, the relationship between the presence of early plaques at carotid bifurcation and fatty liver index (FLI; a validated surrogate marker of fatty liver), as well as the associations between carotid plaque presence and established atherosclerotic risk factors, family history of cardiovascular disease (FH-CVD) or diabetes, insulin sensitivity, serum liver enzymes, adipokines, fatty free acids, and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP). A total of 55 of 1,012 subjects (5.4%) had small plaque at carotid bifurcation. Subjects with plaque were older and had higher prevalence of FLI ≥60 and FH-CVD, higher blood pressure, plasma low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, glucose, gamma-glutamyltransferase (GGT), and hsCRP, as compared to subjects without plaques (P < 0.05). In a logistic regression model, adjusted for sex, liver transaminase, and alcohol consumption, the independent predictors of plaque presence were age (P < 0.0005), FLI ≥60 (P < 0.0005), and current smoking (P < 0.05). When FLI in the model was replaced by variables used in its equation (e.g., body mass index, waist circumference, plasma triglycerides, and GGT), the independent determinants of plaque presence were age (P < 0.001), GGT (P = 0.001), and current smoking (P < 0.05).CONCLUSIONS: Our cross-sectional study suggests that subjects with FLI ≥60 are at higher risk of atherosclerotic lesions, independently of established risk factors, and that serum GGT may represent a link between fatty liver and the development of early atherosclerosis.
KW - Adult
KW - Age Distribution
KW - Carotid Artery Diseases
KW - Comorbidity
KW - Cross-Sectional Studies
KW - Fatty Liver
KW - Female
KW - Humans
KW - Hypertension
KW - Insulin Resistance
KW - Logistic Models
KW - Male
KW - Middle Aged
KW - Multivariate Analysis
KW - Plaque, Atherosclerotic
KW - Prevalence
KW - Prognosis
KW - Proportional Hazards Models
KW - Risk Assessment
KW - Severity of Illness Index
KW - Sex Distribution
KW - Survival Rate
KW - Ultrasonography
KW - Waist Circumference
KW - gamma-Glutamyltransferase
KW - Comparative Study
KW - Journal Article
KW - Multicenter Study
KW - Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
U2 - 10.1002/hep.25555
DO - 10.1002/hep.25555
M3 - Journal article
C2 - 22334565
SN - 0270-9139
VL - 55
SP - 1406
EP - 1415
JO - Hepatology (Baltimore, Md.)
JF - Hepatology (Baltimore, Md.)
IS - 5
ER -