Department of Gastroenterology and Metabolism, Hiroshima University Hospital, Hiroshima, Japan.
Hepatol Res. 2015 May;45(5):533-9. doi: 10.1111/hepr.12382. Epub 2014 Jul 18.
The main causes of mortality from non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) are cardiovascular disease (CVD) and malignancy. Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA)/arachidonic acid (AA) ratio is known to be associated with CVD. However, a possible link between EPA/AA ratio and NAFLD is not well known. In this study, we investigated EPA/AA ratio in Japanese patients with NAFLD.
Two hundred and fifty-four patients with biopsy-proven NAFLD were retrospectively enrolled. Serum EPA/AA ratios were examined for each generation (<35, 35-44, 45-54, 55-64, ≥65 years), and the differences of EPA/AA ratios were evaluated based on steatotic grades and fibrotic stages.
EPA/AA ratio in NAFLD patients was decreased compared to that reported in age-matched healthy controls. EPA/AA ratio, body mass index, total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol and steatotic grades in younger NAFLD patients were significantly worse than those in older NAFLD patients. Fasting glucose, hemoglobin A1c and fibrotic stages in older NAFLD patients were significantly higher than those in younger NAFLD patients. No relation was found between EPA/AA ratio and histological findings.
EPA/AA ratio was lower in NAFLD, especially in younger NAFLD patients. Considering the high mortality from CVD in NAFLD patients, low EPA/AA ratio in young age may influence the increased prevalence of CVD in their older age. EPA/AA ratio is suggested to be a possible link between NAFLD and CVD, and would become a useful marker for CVD in NAFLD.
非酒精性脂肪性肝病（NAFLD）的主要死亡原因是心血管疾病（CVD）和恶性肿瘤。已经知道二十碳五烯酸（EPA）/花生四烯酸（AA）的比值与 CVD 有关。然而，EPA/AA 比值与 NAFLD 之间的可能联系尚不清楚。在这项研究中，我们调查了日本 NAFLD 患者的 EPA/AA 比值。
回顾性纳入了 254 例经活检证实的 NAFLD 患者。检查了每个年龄段（<35、35-44、45-54、55-64、≥65 岁）的血清 EPA/AA 比值，并根据脂肪变性程度和纤维化阶段评估了 EPA/AA 比值的差异。
与年龄匹配的健康对照组相比，NAFLD 患者的 EPA/AA 比值降低。年轻的 NAFLD 患者的 EPA/AA 比值、体重指数、总胆固醇、低密度脂蛋白胆固醇、高密度脂蛋白胆固醇和脂肪变性程度明显差于年长的 NAFLD 患者。年长的 NAFLD 患者的空腹血糖、糖化血红蛋白和纤维化程度明显高于年轻的 NAFLD 患者。未发现 EPA/AA 比值与组织学发现之间存在关系。
NAFLD 患者的 EPA/AA 比值较低，尤其是年轻的 NAFLD 患者。考虑到 NAFLD 患者 CVD 的死亡率较高，年轻时 EPA/AA 比值较低可能会影响他们年老时 CVD 的患病率增加。EPA/AA 比值可能是 NAFLD 和 CVD 之间的一个联系，并且可能成为 NAFLD 中 CVD 的一个有用标志物。
