Impact of body fat accumulation on metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease in Japanese male young adults

Takao Miwa; Cathelencia Francisque; Satoko Tajirika; Tatsunori Hanai; Nanako Imamura; Miho Adachi; Ryo Horita; Lynette J Menezes; Takumi Kawaguchi; Masahito Shimizu; Mayumi Yamamoto

doi:10.1111/hepr.13906

Impact of body fat accumulation on metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease in Japanese male young adults

Hepatol Res. 2023 Aug;53(8):691-700. doi: 10.1111/hepr.13906. Epub 2023 May 4.

Authors

Takao Miwa^{1

2}, Cathelencia Francisque³, Satoko Tajirika^{1

2}, Tatsunori Hanai², Nanako Imamura¹, Miho Adachi¹, Ryo Horita¹, Lynette J Menezes³, Takumi Kawaguchi⁴, Masahito Shimizu², Mayumi Yamamoto^{1

5}

Affiliations

¹ Health Administration Center, Gifu University, Gifu, Japan.
² Department of Gastroenterology/Internal Medicine, Graduate School of Medicine, Gifu University, Gifu, Japan.
³ Morsani College of Medicine, University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida, USA.
⁴ Department of Medicine, Division of Gastroenterology, Kurume University School of Medicine, Kurume, Japan.
⁵ United Graduate School of Drug Discovery and Medical Information Sciences, Gifu University, Gifu, Japan.

PMID: 37143429
DOI: 10.1111/hepr.13906

Abstract

Aim: Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) are global concerns. The aim of this study was to reveal the relationship between body composition and NAFLD and MAFLD in male young adults.

Methods: We recruited 335 male graduate students from Gifu University who underwent a health checkup in April 2022. The diagnosis of NAFLD and MAFLD was based on health checkup data and ultrasonography. Muscle and fat mass were measured using bioelectrical impedance analysis and demonstrated as skeletal muscle mass index and fat mass index (FMI), respectively. We assessed factors associated with NAFLD and MAFLD using the logistic regression, decision tree, and random forest analyses.

Results: The median age of the participants was 22 years, and 9% were overweight or obese (body mass index ≥25 kg/m² ), 8% had MAFLD, and 16% had NAFLD. In the multivariate logistic regression analysis, FMI was independently associated with NAFLD (odds ratio [OR], 1.49; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.26-1.75; p < 0.001) and MAFLD (OR, 1.93; 95% CI, 1.51-2.46; p < 0.001). The decision tree and random forest analyses revealed that the strongest classifier for NAFLD and MAFLD was FMI. Additional analyses among nonobese individuals also showed the strong relationship between FMI, NAFLD, and MAFLD.

Conclusion: Our study revealed that fat accumulation plays a key role in the development of NAFLD and MAFLD in male young adults, even in nonobese individuals. The results could shed new light on the pathophysiology of NAFLD and MAFLD in young adults.

Keywords: lean; metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease; nonalcoholic fatty liver disease; nonalcoholic steatohepatitis; obesity; sarcopenia.

Abstract

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