Association of C-reactive protein with histological, elastographic, and sonographic indices of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in individuals with severe obesity.

Jamialahmadi, Tannaz; Bo, Simona; Abbasifard, Mitra; Sathyapalan, Thozhukat; Jangjoo, Ali; Moallem, Seyed Adel; Almahmeed, Wael; Ashari, Sorour; Johnston, Thomas P.; Sahebkar, Amirhossein

Background: Inflammation is critical in the pathogenesis of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). hs-CRP, an inflammatory marker, is considered one of the prognostic predictors of hepatic damage progression in NAFLD in some studies. Methods: We assessed the concordance of hs-CRP concentrations and liver steatosis, steatohepatitis, and fibrosis based on elastography, sonography and liver biopsy findings in patients with severe obesity undergoing bariatric surgery. Results: Among 90 patients, 56.7% showed steatohepatitis and 8.9% severe fibrosis. Hs-CRP were significantly associated with liver histology in an adjusted regression model (OR 1.155, 95% CI 1.029–1.297, p = 0.014; OR 1.155, 1.029–1.297, p = 0.014; OR 1.130, 1.017–1.257, p = 0.024 for steatosis, steatohepatitis, and fibrosis, respectively). The ROC curve, a cutoff of hs-CRP = 7 mg/L, showed a reasonable specificity (76%) for detecting biopsy-proven fibrosis and steatosis. Conclusion: hs-CRP was associated with any degree of histologically diagnosed liver damage, and it had a reasonable specificity for predicting biopsy-proven steatosis and fibrosis in obese individuals. Further studies are needed to identify non-invasive biomarkers that could predict NALFD progression due to the relevant health risks linked to liver fibrosis. Keypoints: Obesity and NAFLD/NASH are commonly accompanied by inflammation. We tested if serum hs-CRP is associated with indices of NAFLD/NASH and liver fibrosis in morbidly obese patients. hs-CRP was significantly associated with any degree of histologically diagnosed liver damage.

C-reactive protein; ULTRASONIC imaging; NON-alcoholic fatty liver disease; OBESITY; INFLAMMATION

Journal of Health, Population & Nutrition, 2023, Vol 42, Issue 1, p1

1606-0997

Academic Journal

10.1186/s41043-023-00372-8