Abstract
Methods A cross-sectional study was performed among 6285 lean Chinese adults (body mass index < 24 kg/m2) who took their annual health checkups. NAFLD was diagnosed based on hepatic ultrasound examination, with exclusion of other etiologies. Results Of 6285 lean participants enrolled, 654 NAFLD cases were diagnosed. The overall NAFLD prevalence was 10.41%, and the prevalence was 15.45% and 7.16% in men and women, respectively. UHR was significantly higher in NAFLD patients than in controls (14.25 ± 5.33% versus 10.09 ± 4.23%, P < 0.001). UHR quintiles were positively associated with NAFLD prevalence, which was 1.91% in the first UHR quintile and increased to 3.58%, 7.81%, 14.17%, and 24.54% in the second, third, fourth, and fifth quintile groups, respectively (P < 0.001 for trend). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that UHR was independently associated with an increased risk of NAFLD (odds ratio: 1.105; 95% CI: 1.076–1.134; P < 0.001). Sensitivity analysis showed that UHR remained significantly associated with NAFLD in lean participants with normal range of serum uric acid and HDL-cholesterol levels. Conclusions UHR was significantly associated with NAFLD and may serve as a novel and reliable marker for NAFLD in lean adults.
Highlights
Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a common chronic liver disease worldwide, with a prevalence of 25% in general adults [1,2,3]. e spectrum of NAFLD ranges from simple steatosis to nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) and NASH-related fibrosis or cirrhosis [4]
A noticeable finding is that uric acid to HDL-cholesterol ratio (UHR) was significantly higher in NAFLD patients than that in controls (14.25 ± 5.33% versus 10.09 ± 4.23%, P < 0.001)
We provided evidence that UHR was positively associated with NAFLD in a lean Chinese population
Summary
Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a common chronic liver disease worldwide, with a prevalence of 25% in general adults [1,2,3]. e spectrum of NAFLD ranges from simple steatosis to nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) and NASH-related fibrosis or cirrhosis [4]. NAFLD is associated with significantly elevated risks of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), cardiovascular disease, chronic kidney disease, and extrahepatic malignancies [7,8,9]. Despite the fact that obesity is a major risk factor for the development and progression of NAFLD [11], a growing body of evidence showed that NAFLD is common in nonobese population [12,13,14]. E authors reported that NAFLD prevalence in lean/ nonobese population showed a general upward trend during recent years [16]. Prospective studies showed that nonobese NAFLD patients had significantly increased risks of incident T2DM and cardiovascular disease [18, 19]. Prospective studies showed that nonobese NAFLD patients had significantly increased risks of incident T2DM and cardiovascular disease [18, 19]. erefore, more
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