Fibrosis nonalcoholic steatohepatitis index validation and applicability considering glycaemic severity and T2D duration

Liver Int. 2022 Nov;42(11):2577-2580. doi: 10.1111/liv.15406. Epub 2022 Sep 1.

Abstract

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) diagnosis without using invasive methods is extremely challenging, highlighting the need for simple indexes for this end. Recently, the fibrotic nonalcoholic steatohepatitis index (FNI) was developed and proposed as an affordable non-invasive score calculated with aspartate aminotransferase, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol and haemoglobin A1c. Herein, and given the link between NAFLD and diabetes, we aimed at validating FNI in a population with type 2 diabetes (T2D), also considering diabetes duration and glycaemic severity. The performance of FNI was higher than FIB-4 (AUROC = 0.89 vs 0.67, respectively). Additionally, using 0.1 as the rule-out cut-off of FNI, the sensitivity was 0.99 and the positive predictive value was 0.19. Both duration of diabetes and A1c did not impact FNI performance. In sum, FNI is a valuable score for predicting fibrotic nonalcoholic steatohepatitis not only for primary care units but also for diabetes specialized care.

Publication types

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

MeSH terms

  • Aspartate Aminotransferases
  • Biopsy
  • Blood Glucose
  • Cholesterol
  • Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2* / complications
  • Glycated Hemoglobin
  • Humans
  • Lipoproteins, HDL
  • Liver Cirrhosis / diagnosis
  • Liver Cirrhosis / epidemiology
  • Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease* / diagnosis
  • Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease* / epidemiology

Substances

  • Blood Glucose
  • Glycated Hemoglobin A
  • Lipoproteins, HDL
  • Cholesterol
  • Aspartate Aminotransferases