Remnant cholesterol has a non-linear association with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease

Jingfei Chen; Yingjie Su; Xin Su; Fei Luo

doi:10.1016/j.diabres.2023.110733

Remnant cholesterol has a non-linear association with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease

Diabetes Res Clin Pract. 2023 Jul:201:110733. doi: 10.1016/j.diabres.2023.110733. Epub 2023 May 26.

Authors

Jingfei Chen¹, Yingjie Su², Xin Su¹, Fei Luo³

Affiliations

¹ Reproductive Medicine Center, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, The Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China.
² Department of Emergency Medicine, The Affiliated Changsha Central Hospital, Hengyang Medical School, University of South China, China.
³ Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, The Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China; Research Institute of Blood Lipid and Atherosclerosis, the Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Hunan, China. Electronic address: luofei0058@csu.edu.cn.

PMID: 37245725
DOI: 10.1016/j.diabres.2023.110733

Abstract

Objective: We intend to look at the link between remnant cholesterol (RC) and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). We hypothesise that there may be a positive and nonlinear relationship between RC and NAFLD.

Methods: The information for this investigation was obtained from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2017-2020 database. The RC value was obtained by subtracting the sum of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) from the total cholesterol (TC) level. NAFLD diagnosis was based on ultrasonography results.

Results: The analysis included 3370 participants and observed a positive relationship between RC and NAFLD, after adjusting for confounders. A non-linear association between RC and NAFLD was also identified in the research, with an inflection point of 0.96 mmol/l. The effect sizes of 3.88 (2.43 to 6.2) and 0.59 (0.21 to 1.71) were determined on the left and right sides of the inflection point, respectively. In subgroup analysis, we identified age (P for interaction = 0.0309) and waist circumference (P for interaction = 0.0071) as interaction factors.

Conclusions: Elevated RC levels were found to be linked to NAFLD, even after controlling for traditional risk factors. Moreover, non-linear pattern in the relationship between RC and NAFLD was also identified.

Keywords: Lipid accumulation; Non-linear relationships; Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease; Remnant cholesterol.

MeSH terms

Cholesterol
Cholesterol, HDL
Humans
Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease* / complications
Nutrition Surveys
Risk Factors

Substances

Cholesterol
Cholesterol, HDL