Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease severity is associated with the ratios of total cholesterol and triglycerides to high-density lipoprotein cholesterol

- Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease is endemic in middle-aged populations in Taiwan.
- Lipid ratios are recorded in government-sponsored institutional health checkups in Taiwan.
- High lipid ratios are strongly linked with more-severe nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.
- Adults with high lipid ratios should undergo abdominal ultrasound.

BackgroundLimited data support the notion that lipid ratios are risk factors for nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). We evaluated the association between lipid ratios and NAFLD.MethodsThis was a large population, cross-sectional, retrospective study. Data on NAFLD severity, blood pressure, fasting glucose, total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) levels were obtained from 44,767 examinees at single health checkup center. The enrollees were stratified into four subgroups based on their TC/HDL-C and TG/HDL-C ratios. We used multivariate analyses to evaluate the odds between lipid ratios and NAFLD.ResultsThe prevalence rate of fatty liver in this study was 53.76%. In the baseline subgroup with the lowest TC/HDL-C and TG/HDL-C ratios, the prevalence of NAFLD, hypertension, and diabetes was lower than that of the other three subgroups. Patients with higher lipid ratios had a significantly greater risk for advanced NAFLD.ConclusionsAdults with high TC/HDL-C or TG/HDL-C ratios, or both, have a greater risk for NAFLD, especially advanced NAFLD.