CORRELATION BETWEEN NONALCOHOLIC FATTY LIVER DISEASE AND CORONARY ATHEROSCLEROSIS
2023-02-22 21:22:54
Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the most common chronic liver disease, affecting nearly 30% of the world population. NAFLD is a major cause of chronic liver disease, and the burden of extrahepatic diseases has increased significantly with an increase in NAFLD. NAFLD has been associated with cardiovascular disease, metabolic disorders, digestive issues, and cancer. Also, NAFLD is currently considered to be an adverse prognostic factor for cardiovascular outcomes, associated with increased morbidity and mortality from cardiovascular events.
However, whether NAFLD is a genuine independent cardiovascular risk factor has still been controversial. Several ongoing studies are being conducted globally to determine the nature of the relationship between NAFLD and cardiovascular events, but no studies have been conducted in Vietnam. That’s the reason why group of researchers from the School of Medicine – Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh City have conducted a cross-sectional study of 223 patients treated by the Cardiology Department, the Emergency Interventional Cardiology Departments, and the Internal Cardiology Clinic of Thong Nhat Hospital in order to investigate the association between nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and coronary atherosclerosis, which is determined by using coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA).
The results obtained showed that NAFLD was present in 66% of the population. The proportion of patients with significant atherosclerotic plaque (CAS > 50%) was 32%, whereas the remaining 68% had insignificant stenosis. In the NAFLD group, 33.3% had significant atherosclerotic plaque, which was not significantly different from the levels in individuals without NAFLD.
In summary, atherosclerosis is more common in patients with higher cardiovascular risk factors. Risk factors tend to combine for the development and progression of atherosclerosis. Importantly, NAFLD was not found to be strongly associated with coronary atherosclerosis in this study.
The study was published in Clinica Terapeutica 2022 Nov-Dec;173(6):565-571 .
More detail:
DOI: 10.7417/CT.2022.2483
About author:
MSc. MD. Ha Vu: Internal Department, School of Medicine – Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh City
Email: hvu@medvnu.edu.vn
