Using hyperhomocysteinemia and body composition to predict the risk of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in healthcare workers

Abstract

Purpose: This study investigated associations between serum homocysteine levels, body composition, and the probability of having nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in Chinese healthcare workers.

Patients and methods: A total of 4028 healthcare workers were enrolled in this study, and all underwent a physical examination. Body composition was measured using multifrequency bioelectrical impedance analysis.

Results: There were 1507 NAFLD patients (72.26% male, 27.74% female) and 2521 controls (39.83% male, 60.17% female). Body mass index (BMI), waistline, neck-circumference (NC), abdominal visceral fat area (AVFA), total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), glucose (Glu), homocysteinemia (hcy) were higher in the NAFLD group than controls. Additionally, the skeletal-muscle was associated with a lower risk of NAFLD, whereas BMI, waistline, NC, hyperhomocysteinemia (HHcy) were associated with a higher risk of NAFLD. The best NC cut-off point for NAFLD was 34.45 cm (sensitivity 83.3% and specificity 83.9%) in women with HHcy, and the best skeletal-muscle content cut-off point for NAFLD was 41.335% (sensitivity 74.2% and specificity 65.6%) in men with HHcy.

Conclusion: Interactions between skeletal-muscle content, NC, and HHcy may affect the incidence of NAFLD in healthcare workers. This may provide a novel approach for diagnosing NAFLD.

Keywords: abdominal visceral fat area; homocysteine; insulin resistance; neck-circumference; skeletal-muscle content.