Life's Simple 7 and Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease: The Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis
AUTHORS
- PMID: 33285128 [PubMed].
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: The AHA has defined Life’s simple 7 (LS7) as a measure of overall Cardiovascular health . Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) has been concerned as a risk factor for cardiovascular disease .We evaluated the association between LS7 and NAFLD.
METHODS: We evaluate participants form The Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA) cohort. Cardiovascular health score was calculated from the Life’s simple 7 metrics. A score of 0-8 was considered inadequate, 9-10 average, and 11-14, optimal. NAFLD was defined using non-contrast cardiac CT and a liver/spleen attenuation ratio (L/S) < 1. Multivariable regression were performed to evaluate the association.
RESULTS: Our cross-sectional analysis of 3,901 participants showed 19% (n=747) had optimal cardiovascular health, 33% (n=1,270) had average and 48% (n=1,884) had inadequate. White participants were most likely to have an optimal score (51%, n=378) while African American participants had the lowest proportion with optimal scores (16%, n=120; p <0.001). The overall prevalence of NAFLD was 18% with a distribution of 7%, 14%, and 25% in the optimal, average, and inadequate score categories, respectively (p<0.001). Adjusted for risk factors, average and optimal health categories had lower odds of NAFLD compared to those with inadequate scores: odds ratio (OR) for average, 0.44 (95% CI 0.36-0.54); optimal, OR 0.19 (95% CI 0.14-0.26). This association was similar across gender, race and age groups.
CONCLUSION: A more favorable cardiovascular health score was associated with a lower prevalence of NAFLD. This study may suggest a potential of Life’s simple 7 in the prevention of liver disease.
Tags: alumni publications 2020