Estimation of visceral fat is useful for the diagnosis of significant fibrosis in patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease

Table 1 Patient characteristics

	n = 119
Age (yr), mean ± SD	56 ± 10.7
18-30, n (%)	2 (1.7)
31-50, n (%)	30 (25.2)
51-70, n (%)	79 (66.4)
> 70, n (%)	8 (6.7)
Sex (male), n (%)	79 (66.4)
Metabolic syndrome, n (%)	73 (61.3)
Increased waist circumference, n (%)	91 (76.5)
Hypertension, n (%)	63 (52.9)
Type 2 diabetes mellitus, n (%)	66 (55.5)
Increased Triglyceride levels, n (%)	61 (51.3)
Low HDL-cholesterol levels, n (%)	53 (44.5)
HOMA-IR, mean ± SD	7.5 ± 13.1
BMI (kg/m2), mean ± SD	32.5 ± 5.2
Obese, n (%)	74 (62.2)
Normal BMI, n (%)	6 (5)
Waist circumference (cm), mean ± SD	109.3 ± 14
Visceral fat, mean ± SD1	14.8 ± 5.3
Visceral fat ≥ 13, n (%)2	77 (63.6)
CAP (dB/m), mean ± SD	330.9 ± 50.4
Liver elastography (Kpa), mean ± SD	11.7 ± 8
Histological fibrosis stage, n (%)
F0-1	59 (49.6)
F2	18 (15.1)
F3	24 (20.2)
F4	18 (15.1)

¹Measured by bioimpendanciometry analysis.

²Upper threshold of normality provided by the manufacturer. HOMA-IR: Homeostasis Model Assessment of Insulin Resistance; HDL-cholesterol: High-density lipoprotein cholesterol; CAP: Controlled attenuation parameter.

Table 2 Correlations of visceral fat with anthropometric parameters, liver fat and liver fibrosis

	HOMA-IR	BMI (kg/m2)	WC (cm)	Hepatic fat (CAP) (dB/m)	Liver elastography (kPa)	Histological fibrosis stage
Visceral fat	0.16	0.64b	0.67b	0.32b	0.33b	0.112b
Hepatic fat (CAP) (dB/m)	0.001	0.45b	0.38b		0.20	0.002
WC (cm)	0.24a	0.81b		0.38b	0.23a	0.009
BMI (kg/m2)	0.21a		0.81b	0.45b	0.25b	0.003

The values correspond with r correlation coefficient or r² coefficient for histological fibrosis stage.

^aP < 0.05.

^bP < 0.01. HOMA-IR: Homeostasis Model Assessment of Insulin Resistance; CAP: Controlled attenuation parameter; WC: Waist circumference; BMI: Body mass index.

Table 3 Patient characteristics according to significant liver fibrosis (F ≥ 2)

	F0-1 (n = 59)	F ≥ 2 (n = 60)	P
Age (yr), mean ± SD	52 ± 10.5	61 ± 9.4	< 0.001
Sex (male), n (%)	34 (57.6)	45 (75)	0.054
Metabolic syndrome, n (%)	29 (49.2)	44 (73.3)	0.007
Number metabolic risk factors, n (%)			0.0021
0	4 (6.8)	2 (3.3)
1	11 (18.6)	5 (8.3)
2	15 (25.4)	9 (15)
3	17 (28.8)	17 (28.3)
4	9 (15.3)	18 (30)
5	3 (5.1)	9 (15)
Type 2 diabetes mellitus, n (%)	24 (40.7)	42 (67.7)	0.003
BMI (kg/m2), mean ± SD	32.5 ± 5.6	32.6 ± 4.8	0.966
Obese, n (%)	36 (61)	38 (63.3)	0.794
Normal BMI, n (%)	5 (8.5)	1 (1.7)	0.090
Waist circumference (cm), mean ± SD	108.6 ± 14.9	109.8 ± 13.3	0.663
Visceral fat, mean ± SD	13.1 ± 5	16.4 ± 5.1	< 0.001
Visceral fat ≥ 13, n (%)	29 (49.2)	48 (77.4)	0.001
CAP (dB/m), mean ± SD	330.5 ± 58	331.2 ± 44	0.946
Liver elastography (kPa), mean ± SD	8.8 ± 5.6	14.5 ± 8.8	< 0.001

Significant P values are shown in bold font.

¹Chi-squared for trend test.CAP: Controlled attenuation parameter; BMI: Body mass index.