Associations between abdominal obesity indices and pathological features of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease: Chinese visceral adiposity index.

BACKGROUND AND AIM

Many abdominal obesity indices such as waist circumference (WC), lipid accumulation product (LAP), visceral obesity index (VAI), and Chinese VAI (CVAI) have been considered to be associated with the risk of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), but the association between abdominal obesity indices and the pathological features of NAFLD is uncertain. This study aims to explore the associations between these indices and the pathological features of NAFLD.

METHODS

A total of 147 patients with biopsy-confirmed NAFLD were enrolled in the final analysis. General information, biochemical tests, and pathological information of patients were collected. VAI, LAP, and CVAI were calculated. Spearman's correlation analysis and logistics regression analysis were applied to assess the relationship between abdominal obesity indices and the pathological features of NAFLD. Receiver operating characteristic curve analyses were used to assess the value of abdominal obesity indices in predicting liver fibrosis and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis.

RESULTS

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease activity score (NAS) ≥ 5 significantly correlated with WC, LAP, VAI, and CVAI both in univariate and multivariate analyses (P < 0.05). Fibrosis was significantly and positively correlated with WC, LAP, and CVAI (P < 0.05). After adjustment for potential confounders, fibrosis remained associated with CVAI (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSION

CVAI is significantly associated with the pathological features of NAFLD, and CVAI shows the most superior efficacy in diagnosing fibrosis among these indices.