Commentary
Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is considered a hepatic manifestation of metabolic syndrome and is associated with cardiovascular outcomes. The authors investigated whether NAFLD was associated with coronary artery calcification (CAC) in participants without a previous history of cardiovascular disease and whether this association differed according to sex and obesity status after adjustment for other atherosclerosis risk factors, alcohol intake, and liver enzyme levels.
Among 67,441 participants, data from 8,705 participants who underwent a fatty liver status and CAC assessment during routine health screening were analyzed. CAC scores were calculated using computed tomography. NAFLD was diagnosed in patients with evidence of liver steatosis on ultrasonography. Multivariate analysis showed a significant association between NAFLD and CAC in non-obese participants (odds ratio, 1.24 [95% confidence interval, 1.01-1.53]), whereas NAFLD and CAC were not associated in obese participants.
