Prevalence and association of MASLD in metabolically healthy young Asian Americans with obesity: A nationwide inpatient perspective (2019).

BACKGROUND

Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) is a leading cause of chronic liver disease worldwide. Although the epidemiology of MASLD and its association with metabolically healthy obesity (MHO) is well-studied in the United States, data for Asian Americans with MHO is limited. We sought to evaluate the association of MASLD in young Asian American patients with MHO.

METHODS

This was a retrospective, matched cohort, database review of Asian American Individuals. After excluding adult hospitalizations with metabolic risk factors (hypertension, diabetes, or hyperlipidemia), we identified all National Inpatient Sample (2019) admissions with obesity (MHO) and MASLD using relevant ICD-10-CM codes. We matched (1:1) propensity scores for age, sex, household income, hospital location, and teaching status to obtain cohorts with and without obesity (MHO+) vs. (MHO-). Categorical and continuous data were compared using the Chi-square and Mann-Whitney U tests. The primary endpoint was the prevalence and adjusted multivariable odds/predictors of MASLD in (MHO+) vs. (MHO-) cohort.

RESULTS

In the adjusted multivariate regression for demographics, and comorbidities, the (MHO+) cohort was associated with higher odds of admissions with MASLD (OR 4.07, 95%CI 2.02-8.19, p ​< ​0.001). In addition, among the (MHO+) cohort, higher rates of MASLD-related hospitalizations were observed in males (OR 8.40, p ​< ​0.001), females (OR 2.69, p ​= ​0.025), high-income quartiles (OR 10.51, p ​< ​0.001), no prior bariatric surgery (OR 4.07, p ​< ​0.001), non-tobacco users(OR 4.16, p ​< ​0.001), and non-hypothyroid patients (OR 4.00, p ​< ​0.001) compared to the (MHO-) cohort. There was no statistically significant difference in the groups with low-income quartiles, tobacco use disorder, and hypothyroidism.

CONCLUSION

This nationwide analysis demonstrates that (MHO+) is associated with a higher prevalence of MASLD. In the (MHO+) cohort, there was an association of MASLD with sex, high-income quartile, no prior bariatric surgery, non-tobacco use, and non-hypothyroidism. Further prospective multicenter studies are needed to evaluate the association of MASLD in (MHO+) patients with comorbid conditions.