Severity of fatty liver on ultrasound correlates with metabolic and cardiovascular risk

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease is associated with an increased risk of metabolic and cardiovascular diseases. Whether the severity of fatty liver on ultrasound correlates with metabolic or cardiovascular risk remains unclear. A total of 1000 people receiving health examinations were enrolled, and 126 were excluded due to the presence of HBsAg, anti-HCV, known hepatic disorders or alcohol use (>140 g/wk). Significant fatty liver consisted of moderate and severe fatty liver on ultrasound. The definition of central obesity was modified to a waist circumference of >90 cm in men and >80 cm in women. Framingham risk score was used to estimate the risk of cardiovascular disease. A total of 874 subjects (485 women and 388 men with a mean age of 52.07 ± 11.68 years) were included in the final analysis. By using logistic regression analyses stratified by gender, the odds ratio for the prevalence of diabetes mellitus, metabolic syndrome and risk of cardiovascular disease increased with increasing fatty liver status in both genders (p ≤ 0.001). The difference was not only present between individuals with fatty liver vs. non-fatty liver but also between the mild fatty liver and significant fatty liver groups (p < 0.05). In conclusion, the severity of fatty liver on ultrasound could be useful for the risk stratification of metabolic syndrome, diabetes mellitus and cardiovascular disease in clinical practice.