MR Techniques Find Link Between NAFLD and Heart Failure in Obese People

The results of a new study published online in the journal Radiology, has found that fatty liver is independently associated with subclinical heart failure in people who are obese.

Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD) occurs when large droplets of fat are deposited in the liver (hepatic steatosis). The disease is related to insulin resistance, and includes risk factors such as obesity and diabetes. The disease is common in children in the United States and the Western World and can lead to hepatitis, cirrhosis, scars in liver tissue, and liver cancer. Up to 30% of the general population in the US suffer from NAFLD. The prevalence of NAFLD in obese people or people suffering from type 2 diabetes is between 70% to 90%. NAFLD is a manifestation of risk factors such as high blood pressure, unhealthy cholesterol levels, and excess abdominal fat that increase the risk of strokes, heart attacks, and diseases.

The researchers from the Leiden University Medical Center, (LUMC; Leiden, The Netherlands) studied 714 men and women aged between 45 and 65 years, 47% of which were classified as overweight, and 13% as obese. The researchers used proton Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy (MRS) to measure hepatic triglyceride content, noninvasively, and cardiac Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) to assess left ventricular diastolic function.

Lead author of the study, Ralph L. Widya, MD, said, “One of the unique aspects of our study is that we took all of the individual components of the metabolic syndrome into account as possible confounders in this association, as the metabolic syndrome is associated with NAFLD and with cardiovascular disease. Our results may be of importance in cardiovascular risk stratification in obesity, because there is a large variation in the degree of hepatic steatosis in obesity. Also, more emphasis should be put on dietary interventions to reduce or prevent hepatic steatosis. The reasons for the link between fatty liver and heart function are unknown, but could be related to several factors, including the presence of infection-fighting white bloods cells called macrophages or increased expression in the liver of small proteins known as cytokines. Future research is required to study the effect of NAFLD on cardiovascular events, and further study is needed to investigate to what extent the association exists and differs among normal weight, overweight and obese persons”.

Related Links:
Leiden University Medical Center