Increasing liver fat is associated with progression of cardiovascular risk factors.

BACKGROUND

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease is associated with cardiovascular risk factors in cross-sectional analyses. However, less is known about how changes in liver fat associate with the progression of cardiovascular risk factors.

METHODS

A substudy (n = 808) drawn from the Framingham Heart Study underwent serial computed tomography scans 6 years apart. We performed multivariable-adjusted regression to determine the association between changes in liver fat and progression of cardiovascular risk factors.

RESULTS

Each standard deviation increase in liver fat was associated with adverse progression of systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, fasting glucose, high-density lipoprotein and log triglycerides. After adjusting for baseline cardiovascular risk, baseline body mass index (BMI), and change in BMI, increasing liver fat was significantly associated with adverse changes in fasting glucose and triglycerides.

CONCLUSIONS

In a longitudinal cohort, increasing liver fat over 6 years was associated with progression of cardiovascular risk factors, even after accounting for BMI changes.