Association of chronic kidney disease and type 2 diabetes mellitus with metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease and liver fibrosis assessed by transient elastography: a cross-sectional study based on NHANES 2017-2020.

AIMS

The study endeavors to elucidate the separate and combined associations of chronic kidney disease (CKD) and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) with the prevalence risks of metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) and liver fibrosis (LF).

METHODS

This cross-sectional study encompassed 6,035 American adults in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) from 2017 to March 2020. Hepatic steatosis (HS) and LF were diagnosed using transient elastography. The link of disease status to outcomes was examined via logistic regression analyses.

RESULTS

MASLD and LF prevalences were 27 % and 16 %, respectively. When comorbidities were not excluded, both CKD and T2DM were related to increased risk of MASLD and LF (CKD vs. non-CKD: MASLD odds ratio (OR) = 1.266 [1.024-1.566], LF OR = 1.817 [1.518-2.174]; T2DM vs. non-T2DM: MASLD OR = 2.418 [1.937-3.017], LF OR = 2.163 [1.658-2.821]). After excluding comorbid cases and using individuals without CKD or T2DM as the reference group, CKD-only showed no significant association with MASLD, T2DM + CKD had comparable MASLD risk to T2DM-alone but higher LF risk (OR = 3.495 [2.671-4.574]), exceeding T2DM-only (1.662 [1.126-2.451]) or CKD-only (1.384 [1.068-1.794]) groups. Subgroup analyses confirmed elevated risks across all strata for combined T2DM + CKD.

CONCLUSION

T2DM with CKD is associated with increased LF risk, while T2DM alone is linked to higher MASLD risk.