Fibrosis-4 Index Is Closely Associated with Arterial Damage and Future Risk of Coronary Heart Disease in Type 2 Diabetes

Kentaro Watanabe; Noe Takakubo; Taro Saigusa; Akiko Nagasawa; Midori Yamana; Midori Ojima; Wataru Kameda; Shinji Susa; Kenichi Ishizawa; Hisamitsu Ishihara

doi:10.1155/2022/2760027

Fibrosis-4 Index Is Closely Associated with Arterial Damage and Future Risk of Coronary Heart Disease in Type 2 Diabetes

Int J Hypertens. 2022 Jul 7:2022:2760027. doi: 10.1155/2022/2760027. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Division of Diabetes and Metabolic Diseases, Department of Internal Medicine, Nihon University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan.
² Department of Neurology, Hematology, Metabolism, Endocrinology and Diabetology, Yamagata University Faculty of Medicine, Yamagata, Japan.

Abstract

This study evaluated the association between fibrosis-4 (FIB 4) index and arterial damage or future risk of coronary heart disease (CHD) in type 2 diabetes. The study subjects were 253 patients with type 2 diabetes. The FIB4 index, as a marker of hepatic fibrosis based on age, aspartate aminotransferase and alanine aminotransferase levels, and platelet count, was calculated for all subjects. Carotid intima-media thickness (IMT), carotid artery calcification (CAC), and aortic arch calcification (AAC) grade (0-2) were assessed as atherosclerotic variables. The Suita score was calculated as the future risk of coronary heart disease (CHD). We assessed whether the FIB4 index was associated with both atherosclerotic variables and the Suita score. FIB4 index was significantly associated with IMT (r = 0.241, P < 0.001) and Suita score (r = 0.291, P < 0.001). Subjects with CAC showed a significantly higher FIB4 index score compared to subjects without (1.70 ± 0.74 and 1.24 ± 0.69, respectively, P < 0.001), whereas the FIB4 index was significantly elevated with a higher grade of AAC (1.24 ± 0.74, 1.56 ± 0.66, and 1.79 ± 0.71, respectively, P < 0.001). Linear regression analysis adjusted for clinical characteristics indicated that the FIB4 index was positively associated with IMT, Suita score, CAC, and AAC grade (β = 0.241, P=0.004; β = 2.994, P < 0.001; β = 0.139, P=0.001; and β = 0.265, P < 0.001, respectively). FIB4 index is closely associated with arterial damage and future risk of CHD in type 2 diabetes.