Association of hypertriglyceridemic waist phenotype with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease: a cross-sectional study in a Chinese population.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to determine the association between hypertriglyceridemic waist (HTGW) phenotype and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in a middle- to older-aged Chinese population. METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, a total of 9015 participants (age 40-79 years) were recruited and grouped into four phenotypes, as follows NWNT normal waist-normal triglyceride; NWET normal waist-elevated triglycerides; EWNT elevated waist-normal triglycerides; and hypertriglyceridemic waist (HTGW). Logistic regression analysis was carried out to assess the associations between HTGW phenotype and NAFLD. Receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curves were drawn to evaluate the utility of waist circumference-triglyceride index (WTI) as a reference factor for screening for NAFLD. RESULTS: HTGW phenotype had a higher prevalence of NAFLD (53.3%), diabetes (19.6%), and hypertension (79.8%) than the other three subgroups. After adjusting for age, sex, and BMI, HTGW phenotype was associated with NAFLD (odds ratio (OR) 6.12; 95% confidence interval (CI) 5.11-7.32). Further adjusted for potential confounders, the HTGW phenotype was still significantly associated with NAFLD (adjusted OR 5.18; 95% CI 4.30-6.23) regardless of gender. The subgroup analyses generally revealed similar associations across all subgroups. ROC curve analysis showed that when the maximum area under the curve was 0.748, the WTI was 90.1, and the corresponding sensitivity and specificity were 90.6 and 59.5%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: HTGW phenotype is strongly associated with NAFLD and can be used as a reference factor for NAFLD screening.