Hepatology Forum, cilt.1, sa.3, ss.101-108, 2020 (Hakemli Dergi)
Background and Aim: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is
closely associated with insulin resistance (IR). While a minority of patients
with NAFLD does not have evidence of IR, no detailed characterization of
this specific phenotype is currently available. This study was undertaken to
investigate the clinical and histological characteristics of this patient group.
Materials and Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the clinical records
of 263 patients with biopsy-proven NAFLD. IR was defined by a Homeostatic Model Assessment of IR (HOMA-IR) score >2.73. The histological
diagnosis of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) was performed using 1)
the steatosis, activity and fibrosis score and 2) the NASH Clinical Research
Network (NASH CRN) criteria. Significant fibrosis was defined by the
presence of a histological fibrosis score higher than F≥2. Patients with and
without evidence of IR were compared concerning clinical, laboratory, and
histological characteristics.
Results: Of the 263 patients with biopsy-proven NAFLD, 53 (20.2%)
patients had no evidence of IR. Patients without IR were younger [IR (-):
42 (22–65) years versus IR (+): 49 (22−71) years, p=0.001] and had a
higher prevalence of men [IR (-): 39 (73.6%) versus IR (+): 113 (53.8%),
p=0.009]. Moreover, they were characterized by a lower body mass index [IR (-): 30.06±3.61 kg/m2
versus IR (+): 33.19±5.06 kg/m2
, p=0.000]
and lower frequencies of metabolic risk factors–including the metabolic
syndrome, diabetes, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and lower waist/hip
circumference. Liver histology was generally less severe in patients without IR; specifically, they showed a lower prevalence of NASH [IR (-):
38 (71.7%) versus IR (+): 190 (90.5%), p=0.000] and significant fibrosis
[IR (-): 9 (17.0%) versus IR (+): 106 (50.5%), p=0.000] than did patients
with IR. Multivariate analysis identified obesity [odds ratio (OR): 9.321,
95% confidence interval (CI): 1.031−84.261, p<0.05] and an international normalized ratio >1.1 (OR: 10.116, 95% CI: 1.325−77.225, p<0.05)
as independent predictors of significant fibrosis in patients with NAFLD
and no IR.
Conclusion: Patients with NAFLD and no IR has less severe liver histology
than patients with IR. However, obesity appears to be independently associated with significant fibrosis in this patient group.