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Association of arterial stiffness with the histological severity of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease

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Abstract

Background

Although arterial stiffness has been reported to be associated with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), previous studies have relied only on noninvasive assessments for the diagnosis of NAFLD. This study attempted to investigate the association of arterial stiffness with the histological severity of NAFLD.

Methods

We analyzed data from a biopsy-proven prospective NAFLD cohort. Augmentation index corrected for a heart rate of 75 bpm (AI@75) was obtained using applanation tonometry of the radial artery.

Results

A total of 154 patients (mean age 55.2 years; females 55.8%) with biopsy-proven NAFLD were analyzed. Patients with higher AI@75 (≥ 76%) showed more severe grades of lobular and portal inflammation and hepatocellular ballooning, and more advanced stages of fibrosis compared to those with lower AI@75 (< 76%) (p < 0.05 for each). The presence of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 2.48; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.31–6.16; p = 0.008), lobular inflammation (aOR 2.03; 95% CI 1.09–3.78; p = 0.025) hepatocellular ballooning (aOR 2.82; 95% CI 1.23–6.43; p = 0.014), and significant fibrosis (≥ F2) (aOR 3.42; 95% CI 1.50–7.79; p = 0.003) were independently associated with higher AI@75 (≥ 76%) even after adjustment for confounders.

Conclusion

Arterial stiffness as indicated by higher AI@75 was associated with more severe NAFLD histology. This adds to the evidence for the association between increased arterial stiffness and NAFLD.

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Funding

Won Kim was supported by a National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) grant funded by the Korean Government (MEST; 2016R1D1A1B04934590) and the Korea Health Technology R&D Project through the Korea Health Industry Development Institute (KHIDI) funded by the Ministry of Health & Welfare, Republic of Korea (HI17C0912).

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Author notes

  1. Hack-Lyoung Kim and Bo Kyung Koo contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Cardiology, Department of Internal Medicine, Boramae Medical Center, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea

    Hack-Lyoung Kim

  2. Division of Endocrinology, Department of Internal Medicine, Boramae Medical Center, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea

    Bo Kyung Koo

  3. Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Department of Internal Medicine, Boramae Medical Center, Seoul National University College of Medicine, 20, Boramae-ro 5-gil, Dongjak-gu, Seoul, 07061, Republic of Korea

    Sae Kyung Joo & Won Kim

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  1. Hack-Lyoung Kim
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Correspondence to Won Kim.

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Ethical approval

This study was conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki. The study protocol was approved by the Institutional Review Board of Boramae Medical Center, and written informed consent was obtained from each subject.

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Kim, HL., Koo, B.K., Joo, S.K. et al. Association of arterial stiffness with the histological severity of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. Hepatol Int 14, 1048–1056 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12072-020-10108-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12072-020-10108-z

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