Circulating level of fatty acid‐binding protein 4 is an independent predictor of metabolic dysfunction‐associated fatty liver disease in middle‐aged and elderly individuals

• Published in: Journal of diabetes investigation 2022-05, Vol.13 (5), p.878-888
• Main Authors: Tanaka, Marenao, Takahashi, Satoko, Higashiura, Yukimura, Sakai, Akiko, Koyama, Masayuki, Saitoh, Shigeyuki, Shimamoto, Kazuaki, Ohnishi, Hirofumi, Furuhashi, Masato
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adipocytes; Adipokine; Adiponectin; Adipose tissue; Adult; Age; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Alcohol; Arteriosclerosis; Atherosclerosis; Biomarkers; Blood pressure; Body mass index; Body weight; Cholesterol; Cholesterol, HDL; Diabetes; Diabetes mellitus (non-insulin dependent); Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 - complications; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 - metabolism; Drugs; Dyslipidemia; Fatty Acid-Binding Proteins - blood; Fatty acids; Fatty liver; Fatty Liver - diagnosis; Fatty Liver - metabolism; Fatty liver index; Female; Fibroblast growth factors; Fibroblasts; Glucose; Hemoglobin; Hepatokine; Homeostasis; Humans; Hypertension; Insulin; Insulin Resistance; Liver diseases; Male; Metabolic syndrome; Middle Aged; Obesity; Original; Overweight; Plasma; Population studies; Proteins; Regression analysis; Triglycerides; Ultrasonic imaging; Uric Acid; Womens health; Young Adult
• ISSN: 2040-1116; 2040-1124
• DOI: 10.1111/jdi.13735

ABSTRACT Aims/Introduction Metabolic dysfunction‐associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD), defined as hepatosteatosis with type 2 diabetes mellitus, overweight/obesity or metabolic dysregulation, has been proposed as a new feature of chronic liver disease. Fatty acid‐binding protein 4 (FABP4) is expressed in adipose tissue, and secreted FABP4 is associated with the development of insulin resistance and atherosclerosis. However, the relationship between MAFLD and FABP4 has not been fully addressed. Materials and Methods Associations of MAFLD with metabolic markers, including FABP4, fibroblast growth factor 21 and adiponectin, were investigated in 627 individuals (men/women 292/335) in the Tanno‐Sobetsu Study, a population‐based cohort. Results The mean age was 65 years (range 19–98 years, median [interquartile range] 68 [56–76] years). Hepatosteatosis was determined by the fatty liver index (FLI), and FLI ≥35 for men and FLI ≥16 for women were used for detection of fatty liver, as previously reported using 14,471 Japanese individuals. FLI was positively correlated with systolic blood pressure and levels of FABP4 (r = 0.331, P