Is serum vitamin D level related to metabolic associated fatty liver disease?
China: A recent study in the Scandinavian Journal of Gastroenterology has revealed a non-linear relationship between serum vitamin D and metabolic associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD). At negative corelation was detected between serum vitamin and MAFLD when the serum vitamin D level was ≥44.6 nmol/L (17.84 ng/mL). Below this level, serum vitamin D might promote MAFLD progression.
Previous studies have shown that vitamin D is an important factor for MAFLD, however, there has been no consistent conclusion. Considering this, Tingting Wang, Department of Gastroenterology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, China, and colleagues aimed to examine the effect of serum vitamin D on MAFLD in a large population-based study.
83,625 out of 427,507 subjects who underwent health examination met the inclusion criteria and were included in a cross-sectional analysis. The researchers collected clinical and laboratory data for analysis. Abdominal imaging was used for diagnosing MAFLD.
Following were the key findings of the study:
- Multivariate linear regression models discovered a negative association between serum vitamin D and MAFLD (OR: 0.92), after adjusting for other well-identified risk factors.
- The same result was found when serum vitamin D was handled as a categorical variable (quartile, Q1–Q4) (Q4 vs. Q1, OR: 0.82), and a significant linear trend was observed.
- After analysis, a nonlinear relationship was detected between serum vitamin D and MAFLD, with an inflection point of 2.23 (44.6 nmol/L or 17.84 ng/mL).
- The effect sizes and the confidence intervals on the left and right sides of the inflection point were 1.16 and 0.89, respectively.
- All interactions with MAFLD were not significant for age, sex, diabetes, hypertension, smoking and body mass index.
"We observed a nonlinear relationship between serum vitamin D and MAFLD," wrote the authors. "A negative correlation between serum vitamin D and MAFLD was detected when the serum vitamin D level was ≥44.6 nmol/L (17.84 ng/mL). Below this level, serum vitamin D might promote the progression of MAFLD."
Reference:
The study titled, "Effect of serum vitamin D on metabolic associated fatty liver disease: a large population-based study," was published in the Scandinavian Journal of Gastroenterology.
