Introduction: Fatty liver disease (FLD) is correlated with cardiovascular disease. Carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT) and coronary artery calcium score (CACS) can noninvasively identify subclinical atherosclerosis and predict risk for cardiovascular events. This study evaluated CIMT and CACS measurements to detect subclinical atherosclerosis in patients with and without FLD.
Methods: Patients who underwent carotid and abdominal ultrasounds as well as cardiac computed tomography (CT) scans were evaluated retrospectively. The differences between the mean CIMT value and CACS measurements in patients with FLD and those with normal livers were estimated.
Results: Among 819 patients (average age of 53.3 ± 11.2 years), 330 had FLD. The CIMT was greater in patients with FLD compared to the controls (0.79 ± 0.17 vs 0.76 ± 0.17 mm, p = 0.012), and carotid plaques were more commonly seen in patients with FLD. The incidence of a composite of larger CIMT ( ≥ 75th percentile) plus plaque presence was higher in FLD patients (43.3 vs 36.0%, p = 0.041). Particularly among young patients (≤ 50), the CIMT was larger in patients with FLD than in the controls. FLD increased the risk of a composite of large CIMT plus plaque presence in young patients (odds ratio 1.92, 95% confidence interval 1.05-3.49, p = 0.034). However, patients with FLD had no greater incidence of CACS of over 100 than the controls.
Conclusion: CIMT was a better marker of underlying subclinical atherosclerotic risk among patients with FLD than CACS. FLD particularly, increases the risk of subclinical atherosclerosis in patients younger than 50 years of age. These patients should undergo screening CIMT to detect atherosclerosis and modify risk factors.