J Lipid Atheroscler.  2019 Sep;8(2):258-266. 10.12997/jla.2019.8.2.258.

Differing Associations between Fatty Liver and Dyslipidemia According to the Degree of Hepatic Steatosis in Korea

• Han JM
• Kim HI
• Lee YJ
• Lee JW
• Kim KM
• Bae JC

• KMID: 2458391
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.12997/jla.2019.8.2.258

Abstract

OBJECTIVE
Fatty liver is associated with insulin resistance-related diseases, such as dyslipidemia, obesity, and type 2 diabetes. The aim of this study was to evaluate the association of dyslipidemia with fatty liver and assess the differences in these associations according to the degree of hepatic steatosis.
METHODS
A total of 2,462 subjects (1,679 men and 783 women) who underwent a comprehensive health check-up (including abdominal computed tomography) from January 2010 to December 2013 were enrolled at Samsung Changwon Hospital Healthcare Center. The liver attenuation index (LAI), defined as the difference between mean hepatic and splenic attenuation, was used to assess the degree of hepatic steatosis. An LAI below 5 Hounsfield units was defined as fatty liver.
RESULTS
We found that 32.2% of the study subjects had fatty liver. Serum low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and triglyceride (TG), and fasting blood glucose concentrations and glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c percentage) were significant greater in the fatty liver group compared with the non-fatty liver group, while serum high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) was significantly lower in the fatty liver group. Subjects with fatty liver had 1.7-fold greater risk of dyslipidemia than those without fatty liver after adjusting for age, sex, body mass index (BMI), and HbA1c. When individuals with fatty liver were analyzed by tertiles of LAI values, LDL-C, TG, fasting glucose, BMI, and HbA1c concentrations increased while HDL-C decreased with decreasing LAI tertiles. Compared with LAI tertile 3, the risk for dyslipidemia significantly increased with adjusted odds ratios of 1.42, and 1.81 in tertiles 2 and 1, respectively.
CONCLUSION
Fatty liver was significantly associated with dyslipidemia and this association varied according to the degree of hepatic steatosis.

Keyword

Fatty liver; Dyslipidemias; Tomography, spiral computed

MeSH Terms

Blood Glucose
Body Mass Index
Cholesterol
Delivery of Health Care
Dyslipidemias*
Fasting
Fatty Liver*
Glucose
Gyeongsangnam-do
Hemoglobin A, Glycosylated
Humans
Insulin
Korea*
Lipoproteins
Liver
Male
Obesity
Odds Ratio
Tomography, Spiral Computed
Triglycerides
Blood Glucose
Cholesterol
Glucose
Insulin
Lipoproteins

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