Low cardiopulmonary fitness is associated with higher liver fat content and higher gamma-glutamyltransferase concentrations in the general population - "The Sedentary's Liver"

Ines Zinterl; Till Ittermann; Sabine Schipf; Stefan Gross; Henryke Anspieler; Simon Kim; Ralf Ewert; Robin Bülow; Jens-Peter Kühn; Markus M Lerch; Henry Völzke; Stephan Burkhard Felix; Martin Bahls; Giovanni Targher; Marcus Dörr; Marcello Ricardo Paulista Markus

doi:10.1111/liv.15162

Low cardiopulmonary fitness is associated with higher liver fat content and higher gamma-glutamyltransferase concentrations in the general population - "The Sedentary's Liver"

Liver Int. 2022 Mar;42(3):585-594. doi: 10.1111/liv.15162. Epub 2022 Jan 28.

Authors

Ines Zinterl^{1

2}, Till Ittermann^{2

3}, Sabine Schipf^{3

4}, Stefan Gross^{1

2}, Henryke Anspieler^{1

2}, Simon Kim⁵, Ralf Ewert¹, Robin Bülow⁶, Jens-Peter Kühn⁷, Markus M Lerch⁸, Henry Völzke^{2

3}, Stephan Burkhard Felix^{1

2}, Martin Bahls^{1

2}, Giovanni Targher⁹, Marcus Dörr^{1

2}, Marcello Ricardo Paulista Markus^{1

2

4}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Internal Medicine B, University Medicine Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany.
² German Centre for Cardiovascular Research (DZHK), partner site Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany.
³ Department of Study of Health in Pomerania/Clinical-Epidemiological Research, Institute for Community Medicine, University Medicine Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany.
⁴ German Center for Diabetes Research (DZD), partner site Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany.
⁵ Department of Trauma and Reconstructive Surgery and Rehabilitative Medicine, University Medicine Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany.
⁶ Institute of Diagnostic Radiology and Neuroradiology, University Medicine Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany.
⁷ Institute and Policlinic for Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, University Hospital, Carl Gustav Carus University, TU Dresden, Dresden, Germany.
⁸ Department of Internal Medicine A, University Medicine Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany.
⁹ Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism, Department of Medicine, University of Verona, Verona, Italy.

PMID: 35020966
DOI: 10.1111/liv.15162

Abstract

Background: We investigated the association between low cardiorespiratory fitness and liver fat content (LFC) in the general population.

Materials and methods: We evaluated data from 2151 adults (51.1% women) from two population-based cohorts of the Study of Health in Pomerania (SHIP-2 and SHIP-TREND-0). We analysed the cross-sectional associations of peak oxygen uptake (VO_2peak ) with LFC, assessed by magnetic resonance imaging proton density fat fraction, as well as serum gamma-glutamyltransferase (GGT) and aminotransferase concentrations by multivariable regression models.

Results: We observed significant inverse associations of VO_2peak with LFC and serum GGT, but not with serum aminotransferase levels. Specifically, a 1 L/min lower VO_2peak was associated with a 1.09% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.45-1.73; P = .002) higher LFC and a 0.18 μkatal/L (95% CI: 0.09-0.26; P < .001) higher GGT levels. The adjusted odds ratio (OR) for the risk of prevalent hepatic steatosis (HS) by a 1 L/min decrease in VO_2peak was 1.61 (95% CI: 1.22-2.13; P = .001). Compared to subjects with high VO_2peak , obese and overweight individuals with low VO_2peak had 1.78% (95% CI: 0.32-3.25; P = .017) and 0.94% (95% CI: 0.15-1.74; P = .021) higher mean LFC, respectively. Compared to those with high VO_2peak , low VO_2peak was independently associated with a higher risk of prevalent HS in the obese (adjusted-OR 2.29, 95% CI=1.48-3.56; P < .001) and overweight (adjusted OR 1.57, 95% CI=1.16-2.14; P = .04) groups.

Conclusions: Lower VO_2peak was significantly associated with greater LFC and higher serum GGT levels in a population-based cohort of adult individuals. Our results suggest that low VO_2peak might be a risk factor for HS.

Keywords: MRI-proton-density-fat-fraction (PDFF); cardiorespiratory fitness; fat-free mass; liver fat content; peak oxygen uptake; sedentarism.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Adult
Cross-Sectional Studies
Exercise
Fatty Liver* / epidemiology
Female
Humans
Liver / diagnostic imaging
Male
gamma-Glutamyltransferase*

Substances

gamma-Glutamyltransferase