Higher consumption of animal organ meat is associated with a lower prevalence of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis

Background:Animal organ meat(offal)is a food with high nutrient density that is popular in different parts of the world,but its relationship with nonalcoholic steatohepatitis(NASH)is unclear.We aimed to examine whether daily animal organ meat consumption is associated with the presence of NASH in individuals with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease(NAFLD).Methods:A total of 136 Chinese adults with biopsy-proven NAFLD were included.Definite NASH was defined as NAFLD activity score≥4 and at least one point for steatosis,ballooning,and lobular inflammation.Daily animal organ meat consumption was estimated using a self-administered validated food frequency questionnaire.Logistic regression analysis was performed to assess the association between animal organ meat intake and liver disease severity.Results:The 136 participants(80.9%men)of the study had a mean±standard deviation(SD)age of 39.0±12.5 years and body mass index of 27.4±3.6 kg/m2.Prevalence of definite NASH was 65.4%.Daily median organ meat consumption was 1.30 g/1,000 kcal.Animal organ meat consumption was inversely associated with the presence of NASH even after adjustment of demographics,lifestyle variables,metabolic and dietary factors,as well as liver fibrosis stage;adjusted-odds ratios(95%confidence intervals)for NASH were 0.15(0.03,0.69)for the highest tertile and 0.18(0.05,0.70)for the medium tertile,compared to the lowest(reference)tertile of animal organ meat intake(P value for trend=0.024).Conclusions:Our results suggest for the first time that higher animal organ meat consumption is associated with a lower prevalence of NASH in Chinese individuals with biopsy-proven NAFLD.

LEARN algorithm:a novel option for predicting non-alcoholic steatohepatitis

Background:There is an unmet need for accurate non-invasive methods to diagnose non-alcoholic steatohepatitis(NASH).Since impedance-based measurements of body composition are simple,repeatable and have a strong association with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease(NAFLD)severity,we aimed to develop a novel and fully automatic machine learning algorithm,consisting of a deep neural network based on impedance-based measurements of body composition to identify NASH[the bioeLectrical impEdance Analysis foR Nash(LEARN)algorithm].Methods:A total of 1,259 consecutive subjects with suspected NAFLD were screened from six medical centers across China,of which 766 patients with biopsy-proven NAFLD were included in final analysis.These patients were randomly subdivided into the training and validation groups,in a ratio of 4:1.The LEARN algorithm was developed in the training group to identify NASH,and subsequently,tested in the validation group.Results:The LEARN algorithm utilizing impedance-based measurements of body composition along with age,sex,pre-existing hypertension and diabetes,was able to predict the likelihood of having NASH.This algorithm showed good discriminatory ability for identifying NASH in both the training and validation groups[area under the receiver operating characteristics(AUROC):0.81,95%CI:0.77-0.84 and AUROC:0.80,95%CI:0.73-0.87,respectively].This algorithm also performed better than serum cytokeratin-18 neoepitope M30(CK-18 M30)level or other non-invasive NASH scores(including HAIR,ION,NICE)for identifying NASH(P value<0.001).Additionally,the LEARN algorithm performed well in identifying NASH in different patient subgroups,as well as in subjects with partial missing body composition data.Conclusions:The LEARN algorithm,utilizing simple easily obtained measures,provides a fully automated,simple,non-invasive method for identifying NASH.

Associations of Hydroxysteroid 17-beta Dehydrogenase 13 Variants with Liver Histology in Chinese Patients with Metabolicassociated Fatty Liver Disease

Background and Aims:In Europeans,variants in the hydroxysteroid 17-beta dehydrogenase 13(HSD17B13)gene impact liver histology in metabolic-associated fatty liver disease(MAFLD).The impact of these variants in ethnic Chinese is unknown.The aim of this study was to investigate the potential associations in Chinese patients.Methods:In total,427 Han Chinese with biopsy-confirmed MAFLD were enrolled.Two single nucleotide polymorphisms in HSD17B13 were genotyped:rs72613567 and rs6531975.Logistic regression was used to test the association between the single nucleotide polymorphisms and liver histology.Results:In our cohort,the minor allele TA of the rs72613567 variant was related to an increased risk of fibrosis[odds ratio(OR):2.93(1.20–7.17),p=0.019 for the additive model;OR:3.32(1.39–7.91),p=0.007 for the recessive model],representing an inverse association as compared to the results from European cohorts.In contrast,we observed a protective effect on fibrosis for the minor A allele carriers of the HSD17B13 rs6531975 variant[OR:0.48(0.24–0.98),p=0.043 for the additive model;OR:0.62(0.40–0.94),p=0.025 for the dominant model].HSD17B13 variants were only associated with fibrosis but no other histological features.Furthermore,HSD17B13 rs6531975 modulated the effect of PNPLA3 rs738409 on hepatic steatosis.Conclusions:HSD17B13 rs72613567 is a risk variant for fibrosis in a Han Chinese MAFLD population but with a different direction for allelic association to that seen in Europeans.These data exemplify the need for studying diverse populations in genetic studies in order to fine map genome-wide association studies signals.

Glycemic control predicts the risk of hepatic fibrosis in biopsy-proven NAFLD:a possible mediating role for leukemia inhibitory factor?

Background:Despite the clear link between nonalcoholic fatty liver disease(NAFLD)and type 2 diabetes mellitus,little is understood about how glycemic control impacts histological severity.We aimed to investigate the deeper association between hemoglobin A1c(HbA1c)and the histologic severity of liver fibrosis.Methods:A total of 568 adults with biopsy-proven NAFLD from the PERSONS cohort in Wenzhou were enrolled.The association between mean HbA1c and hepatic histological features was investigated with ordinal logistic regression.Generalized additive models were used to identify the non-linear relationship between HbA1c and increased fibrosis stage(stage F
3).Causal mediation analysis was performed to calculate the indirect effect of the relationship between HbA1c and hepatic fibrosis mediated by cytokines.Results:Every 1%increase in mean HbA1c was associated with 16%higher odds of increased fibrosis stage(odds ratio 1.16,95%CI 1.04–1.30),even after adjustment for confounding factors.There was a non-linear association between HbA1c and increased fibrosis stage(stage F
3),and the HbA1c inflection point was 9.2%.In particular,the ORs on the left and right sides of this inflection point were 2.1(95%CI 1.4–3.3)and 0.1(95%CI 0–4.8),respectively.7%of the association(OR 1.07,95%CI 1.01–1.12)between HbA1c and liver fibrosis was mediated by leukemia inhibitory factor.Conclusions:Glycemic control predicts severity of hepatic fibrosis and leukemia inhibitory factor plays an intermediary role between them,and thus optimizing glycemic control may be a means of modifying the risk of fibrosis progression in NAFLD.

Interaction of SAMM50-rs738491,PARVB-rs5764455 and PNPLA3-rs738409 Increases Susceptibility to Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis

Background and Aims:Previous studies have reported that the single nucleotide polymorphisms(SNPs)of SAMM50-rs738491,PARVB-rs5764455 and PNPLA3-rs738409 are associated with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease(NAFLD).However,no studies have examined the effect of interactions between these three genotypes to affect liver disease severity.We assessed the effect of these three SNPs on nonalcoholic steatohepatitis(NASH)and also examined the gene-gene interactions in a Chinese population with biopsy-confirmed NAFLD.Methods:We enrolled 415 consecutive adult individuals with biopsy-proven NAFLD.Multivariable logistic regres-sion analysis was undertaken to test associations between NASH and SNPs in SAMM50-rs738491,PARVB-rs5764455 and PNPLA3-rs738409.Gene-gene interactions were ana-lyzed by performing a generalized multifactor dimensionality reduction(GMDR)analysis.Results:The mean±standard deviation age of these 415 patients was 41.3±12.5 years,and 75.9%were men.Patients with SAMM50-rs738491 TT,PARVB-rs5764455 AA or PNPLA3-rs738409 GG genotypes had a higher risk of NASH,even after adjustment for age,sex and body mass index.GMDR analysis showed that the combination of all three SNPs was the best model for predicting NASH.Additionally,the odds ratio of the haplotype T-A-G for predicting the risk of NASH was nearly three times higher than that of the haplotype G-C-C.Conclusions:NAFLD patients carrying the SAMM50-rs738491 TT,PARVB-rs5764455 AA or PNPLA3-rs738409 GG genotypes are at greater risk of NASH.These three SNPs may synergistically interact to increase susceptibility to NASH.

PNPLA3 rs738409 C>G Variant Influences the Association Between Visceral Fat and Significant Fibrosis in Biopsyproven Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease

Background and Aims:Intra-abdominal visceral fat accumulation and patatin-like phospholipase domain containing 3(PNPLA3)rs738409 G/C gene polymorphism confer a greater susceptibility to nonalcoholic fatty liver disease(NAFLD).We examined whether the relationship between visceral fat accumulation and liver disease severity may be influenced by PNPLA3 rs738409 polymorphism.Methods:The variant of PNPLA3 rs738409 was genotyped within 523 Han individuals with biopsy-confirmed NAFLD.Visceral fat area(VFA)was measured by bioelectrical impedance.Significant liver fibrosis(SF),defined as stage F≥2 on histology,was the outcome measure of interest.Results:The distribution of PNPLA3 genotypes was CC:27.5%,CG:48.2%,and GG:24.3%.Higher VFA was associated with greater risk of having SF(adjusted-odds ratio[OR]:1.03;95%confidence interval[CI]:1.02–1.04,p<0.05),independent of potential confounders.Among subjects with the same VFA level,the risk of SF was greater among carriers of the rs738409 G genotype than among those who did not.Stratified analysis showed that PNPLA3 rs738409 significantly influenced the association between VFA and SF.VFA remained significantly associated with SF only among the rs738409 G-allele carriers(adjusted-OR:1.05;95%CI:1.03–1.08 for the GG group;and adjusted-OR:1.03;95%CI:1.01–1.04 for the GC group).There was a significant interaction between VFA and PNPLA3 rs738409 genotype(Pinteraction=0.004).Conclusions:PNPLA3 rs738409 G allele has a moderate effect on the association between VFA and risk of SF in adult individuals with biopsy-proven NAFLD.Existence of the PNPLA3 rs738409 G allele and VFA interact to increase risk of SF。