NAFLD in clinical practice: Can simple blood and anthropometric markers be used to detect change in liver fat measured by 1H‐MRS?. (29th June 2017)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Keating, Shelley E.; Parker, Helen M.; Hickman, Ingrid J.; Gomersall, Sjaan R.; Wallen, Matthew P.; Coombes, Jeff S.; Macdonald, Graeme A.; George, Jacob; Johnson, Nathan A.
• Is Part Of: Liver international. Volume 37:Number 12(2017)
• Page Start: 1907
• Page End: 1915
• Publication Date: 2017-06-29
• Subjects: biomarkers -- intrahepatic triglyceride -- non‐alcoholic fatty liver disease -- visceral adiposity; Liver -- Periodicals; Liver -- Diseases -- Periodicals; 616.362
• DOI: 10.1111/liv.13488
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1478-3223

Abstract

Abstract: Background & Aims: Research in NAFLD management is commonly based on quantitative assessment of liver fat by proton‐magnetic resonance spectroscopy ( 1 H‐MRS), and translation of this into clinical practice is currently limited by availability and expense. Novel steatosis biomarkers have been proposed for the prediction of liver fatness; however, whether these are suitable for detecting changes in liver fat is unknown. We aimed to determine the accuracy of these indices, and waist circumference (WC), in quantifying longitudinal change in 1 H‐MRS‐quantified liver fat. Methods: We performed a secondary analysis using data from 97 overweight/obese adults (age: 39.7±11.5 years, body mass index: 30.7±4.4 kg/m 2, liver fat: 6.0±4.8%, 65% male) who completed either an 8‐week exercise or 12‐week nutraceutical intervention, with varying degrees of change in liver fat. Baseline and post‐intervention measures were liver fat ( 1 H‐MRS), NAFLD Liver Fat Score, Liver Fat Equation (LFE), Fatty Liver Index (FLI), Hepatic Steatosis Index (HSI), the Visceral Adiposity Index (VAI) and WC. Results: Only the change in HSI, FLI and WC was associated with change in liver fat; however, correlations were weak to moderate. There was no agreement between the LFE and 1 H‐MRS for detecting liver fat change. Only change in WC significantly affected change in liver fat ( P <.001), and WC AUROC for the presence of steatosis was 0.65 and 0.78 for men and women respectively. Conclusions: Novel indices are limited in their ability to detect longitudinal change in liver fat. Waist circumference may offer modest utility as a surrogate to infer liver fat change with lifestyle interventions.