Photo Credit: Mohammed Haneefa Nizamudeen
The following is a summary of “Association between the triglyceride-glucose index and liver fibrosis in adults with metabolism-related fatty liver disease in the United States: a cross-sectional study of NHANES 2017–2020,” published in the January 2025 issue of Gastroenterology by Ying et al.
Among U.S. adults Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Steatotic Liver Disease (MAFLD) is associated with liver fibrosis (LF).
Researchers conducted a retrospective study assessing the association between the triglyceride-glucose (TyG) index and LF in U.S. adults with MAFLD.
They used data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) with 1,324 participants (2017–2020), MAFLD was defined by a controlled attenuation parameter (CAP) score ≥248 dB/m and metabolic dysfunction. Significant fibrosis was identified using a median liver stiffness measurement ≥8.2 kPa. Multivariable logistic regression was applied as a restricted cubic spline (RCS) model, and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were used to analyze the data.
The results showed that a higher TyG index was associated with an increased incidence of MAFLD-related LF (OR = 2.18, 95% CI, 1.14–4.18; P<0.05). Elevated TyG levels showed a positive correlation with significant fibrosis, with an OR exceeding 1 when the TyG index was above 8.054. The association was stronger in women (OR = 2.53, 95% CI, 1.16–5.53) than in men (OR = 1.95, 95% CI, 0.81–4.72). A significant correlation was also found with obesity (overweight: OR = 4.80, 95% CI, 1.27–18.2; obese: OR = 2.26, 95% CI, 1.20–5.53). Among adults aged 40–59 years, TyG was strongly associated with LF (OR = 2.85, 95% CI, 1.16–6.79). The TyG index showed moderate predictive ability for fibrosis, with an area under the ROC curve (AUC) of 0.73 (95% CI, 0.68–0.78).
They concluded that higher TyG index levels were linked with a high risk of LF in U.S. adults with MAFLD.
Source: bmcgastroenterol.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12876-024-03579-z
