
The need for early non-invasive diagnostic tools for chronic liver fibrosis is growing, particularly in individuals with obesity, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), and the metabolic syndrome (MetS) since prevalence of these conditions is increasing. This case-control study compared non-invasive liver fibrosis markers in obesity with NAFLD and MetS (NAFLD-MetS, n = 33), in obese (n = 28) and lean (n = 27) control groups. We used MRI (T1 relaxation times (T1) and liver stiffness), circulating biomarkers (CK18, PIIINP, and TIMP1), and algorithms (FIB-4 index, Forns score, FNI, and MACK3 score) to assess their potential in predicting liver fibrosis risk. We found that T1 (892 ± 81 ms vs. 818 ± 64 ms, p < 0.001), FNI (15 ± 12% vs. 9 ± 7%, p = 0.018), CK18 (166 ± 110 U/L vs. 113 ± 41 U/L, p = 0.019), and MACK3 (0.18 ± 0.15 vs. 0.05 ± 0.04, p < 0.001) were higher in the NAFLD-MetS group compared with the obese control group. Moreover, correlations were found between CK18 and FNI (r = 0.69, p < 0.001), CK18 and T1 (r = 0.41, p < 0.001), FNI and T1 (r = 0.33, p = 0.006), MACK3 and FNI (r = 0.79, p < 0.001), and MACK3 and T1 (r = 0.50, p < 0.001). We show that liver fibrosis markers are increased in obese individuals with NAFLD and MetS without clinical signs of liver fibrosis. More studies are needed to validate the use of these non-invasive biomarkers for early identification of liver fibrosis risk.
Male, Liver Cirrhosis, Adult, Science, Article, Liver fibrosis risk, Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease, Humans, Obesity, Metabolic Syndrome, Obesity phenotype, Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease/complications, Q, R, Liver Cirrhosis/blood, Middle Aged, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Non-invasive biomarkers, Metabolic Syndrome/complications, Case-Control Studies, The metabolic syndrome, Medicine, Female, Obesity/complications, Biomarkers/blood, Biomarkers, Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease
Male, Liver Cirrhosis, Adult, Science, Article, Liver fibrosis risk, Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease, Humans, Obesity, Metabolic Syndrome, Obesity phenotype, Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease/complications, Q, R, Liver Cirrhosis/blood, Middle Aged, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Non-invasive biomarkers, Metabolic Syndrome/complications, Case-Control Studies, The metabolic syndrome, Medicine, Female, Obesity/complications, Biomarkers/blood, Biomarkers, Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease
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