Niu Xiaoxian, Liu Jian, Liu Kai
Department of Ultrasound, The First Affiliated Hospital of Henan Polytechnic University (Jiaozuo Second People's Hospital), Jiaozuo, China.
Department of Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Henan Polytechnic University (Jiaozuo Second People's Hospital), Jiaozuo, China.
Front Nutr. 2023 Mar 15;10:1094161. doi: 10.3389/fnut.2023.1094161. eCollection 2023.
Retinol is a precursor of vitamin A, which is metabolized and maintained in the liver and is involved in the pathogenesis of the nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and liver fibrosis. The relationship between NAFLD and liver fibrosis with serum retinol levels remains insufficient and inconclusive. Our study aimed to investigate the correlation between NAFLD, fibrosis, and serum retinol levels in American adults.
A cross-sectional analysis was conducted using information from the 2017-2018 cycle of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). The exposure factors were NAFLD and liver fibrosis status detected using transient elastography (TE), and the outcome was serum retinol levels. Weighted multivariate regressions were established to assess the correlation between NAFLD and liver fibrosis and serum retinol levels. Subgroup analyses were also performed.
This study included 3,537 participants. Compared to the group without NAFLD, NAFLD was positively correlated with serum retinol levels (β = 1.28, 95% CI: 0.19, 2.37). In the subgroup analysis, a positive correlation between NAFLD and serum retinol levels was found in people aged < 60 years, Mexican Americans, and those with a body mass index (BMI) < 25. On the contrary, compared to the group without liver fibrosis, there was a significant negative association between liver fibrosis and serum retinol (β = -3.46, 95% CI: -5.16, -1.75), especially in people aged < 60 years, non-Hispanic white/black individuals, and people with a BMI ≥ 25.
Our study suggests that NAFLD status may be positively associated with serum retinol levels in adult patients, and liver fibrosis may be negatively associated with serum retinol levels. Further studies are required to examine the associations found in our study.
视黄醇是维生素A的前体，在肝脏中进行代谢并维持其水平，且与非酒精性脂肪性肝病（NAFLD）及肝纤维化的发病机制有关。NAFLD和肝纤维化与血清视黄醇水平之间的关系仍不充分且尚无定论。我们的研究旨在调查美国成年人中NAFLD、肝纤维化与血清视黄醇水平之间的相关性。
使用2017 - 2018年国家健康与营养检查调查（NHANES）的数据进行横断面分析。暴露因素为通过瞬时弹性成像（TE）检测到的NAFLD和肝纤维化状态，结果变量为血清视黄醇水平。建立加权多变量回归模型以评估NAFLD、肝纤维化与血清视黄醇水平之间的相关性，并进行亚组分析。
本研究纳入了3537名参与者。与无NAFLD组相比，NAFLD与血清视黄醇水平呈正相关（β = 1.28，95%CI：0.19，2.37）。在亚组分析中，年龄<60岁的人群、墨西哥裔美国人以及体重指数（BMI）<25的人群中，NAFLD与血清视黄醇水平呈正相关。相反，与无肝纤维化组相比，肝纤维化与血清视黄醇之间存在显著负相关（β = -3.46，95%CI：-5.16，-1.75），尤其是在年龄<60岁的人群、非西班牙裔白人/黑人个体以及BMI≥25的人群中。
我们的研究表明，在成年患者中，NAFLD状态可能与血清视黄醇水平呈正相关，而肝纤维化可能与血清视黄醇水平呈负相关。需要进一步研究来检验我们研究中发现的关联。
