Metabolic index a non-invasive predictive marker of liver steatosis in patients with Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease.

INTRODUCTION AND

OBJECTIVES

Determining insulin resistance (IR) is essential to identify subjects at risk for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). A particular area of interest is the ability to detect patients with NAFLD using non-invasive biomarkers. This study aimed to evaluate the sensitivity, specificity, and predictive value of the metabolic index for detecting NAFLD.

MATERIALS AND

METHODS

A retrospective study was conducted in adults of both sexes eligible for inclusion were adults of both sexes aged 18 to 85 years with and without NAFLD. Liver steatosis was measured using the controlled attenuation parameter (CAP) through FibroScan®. The metabolic index was calculated using the formula: Fasting Glucose x TG/HDL-C2. The study was carried out at the Gastrointestinal and Liver Specialty Clinic in Yucatán, Mexico, between January 2014 and November 2020, using a convenience sampling method. In a total of 138 subjects (32 healthy and 106 patients with NAFLD), anthropometric measures and laboratory tests were obtained to determine levels of triglycerides (TG), glucose, total cholesterol (TC), HDL-C, LDL-C, AST, and ALT.

RESULTS

The metabolic index showed a specificity of 90,6% (95% CI [80,5-100]), sensitivity of 64.2% (95% CI [55-73,3]), a positive predictive value of 95,8%, a negative predictive value of 43,3%, a positive likelihood ratio of 6,83, and a negative likelihood ratio of 0,40 for detecting NAFLD.

CONCLUSION

The metabolic index showed high specificity for detecting NAFLD and could be used in adult patients with suspected NAFLD seen in primary health care.