[Non-invasive markers of fibrosis in the diagnosis of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease].

OBJECTIVE

To analyze the utility of three indices to predict hepatic fibrosis in the detection of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) as a non-invasive method in primary care.

DESIGN

We performed a descriptive, cross-sectional, multicenter study with a populational base from 25 primary care centers in the province of Barcelona.

PARTICIPANTS

Healthy individuals aged 17 to 83 years randomly selected from the Primary Care Computer System.

METHODS

Medical history, physical examination, and blood analyses were used to determine the following predictive indices of fibrosis; HAIR (hypertension, alanine-aminotransferase, insulin resistance); Fatty Liver Index (FLI) (body mass index, gammaglutamyl-transpeptidase, triglycerides, abdominal perimeter) and Lipid Accumulation Product (LAP) (triglycerides, abdominal perimeter), and abdominal echography.

RESULTS

We included 702 individuals; 58% were women and the mean age was 53±14 years. The FLI was positive in 30.8%, HAIR was positive in 6.7%, and LAP was positive in 15.5%. Agreement among the three indices ranged from 63.1% to 84.9%, with kappa indices between 0.18 and 0.50. A total of 184 individuals met the echographic criteria of NAFLD, representing a prevalence of 26.29%. The prevalence of NAFLD in patients with positive FLI, HAIR and LAP indices was 46.8%, 68.1% and 56%, respectively. The index with the greatest sensitivity for NAFLD was tFLI≥60 with 84%. Specificity was highest for HAIR and LAP with 97% and 91%, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

FLI, HAIR and LAP are highly prevalent and have been shown to be independent markers for the diagnosis of NAFLD. Because of the lack of concordance between the indices, different prevalences are obtained, thus requiring criteria to be unified in order to obtain a more useful index for the diagnosis of NAFLD.