Background: No study has examined whether serum uric acid/creatinine (sUA/Cr) is associated with the newly defined metabolic-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLDs). Furthermore, studies on other factors influencing their relationship have not been conducted. Aim: To investigate the relationship between sUA/Cr and newly defined MAFLD, and to identify any factors that affect this relationship. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the data of patients who underwent abdominal computed tomography (CT) at the Hospital Health Promotion Center. Participants were divided into the healthy (no evidence of liver disease; n = 707), MAFLD+non-heavy drinking (steatosis diagnosed by CT and drinking <140 and 70 grams/week for men and women, respectively; n = 291), and MAFLD+heavy drinking (fatty liver diagnosed by CT and drinking >140 and 70 grams/week for men and women, respectively; n = 61) groups. The relationship between sUA/Cr and MAFLD among the three groups were compared using multivariate logistic regression. Results: After adjusting for age, it was observed that when the sUA/Cr ratio increased by 1, the risk of MAFLD increased by 1.205 times the risk in the normal group. After adjusting for age, an increase by 1 in the sUA/Cr ratio increased the probability of non-heavy drinking+MAFLD and heavy drinking+MAFLD by 1.302 and 1.556 times, respectively, compared with healthy individuals. For those who smoked, the probability of heavy drinking+MAFLD was 9.901 times higher compared with healthy individuals. Conclusion: The newly defined MAFLD is related to sUA/Cr. The amount of alcohol consumption and smoking influenced the association between sUA/Cr and MAFLD.
Keywords: creatinine; non-alcoholic fatty liver disease; obesity; uric acid.