Hypertriglyceridemic hyperapoB and the development and resolution of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease: a cohort study

Hypertriglyceridemic hyperapoB is an adverse lipoprotein phenotype characterized by low high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, high triglycerides, high apolipoprotein B (ApoB), and low low density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol to ApoB ratio. We investigated whether and to what extent hypertriglyceridemic hyperapoB associates with the incidence and resolution of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). This prospective cohort study included 9,019 Chinese participants 40 years or older, from 2010 to 2015. Logistic regression models were used to examine the odds ratios (ORs) for the incidence and resolution of NAFLD associated with the hypertriglyceridemic hyperapoB lipoprotein phenotype and individual lipid and lipoprotein parameters. During a median 4.3 years of follow-up, compared with participants with optimal phenotype, the fully adjusted ORs (95% CIs) for participants with hypertriglyceridemic hyperapoB were 2.75 (1.91, 3.95) and 0.57 (0.33, 1.00) for incidence and resolution of NAFLD, respectively. These associations were consistent across subgroup participants with varied demographic, lifestyle, and metabolic status. Individually, each unit increase in HDL cholesterol (OR: 0.98; 95% CI: 0.97, 0.99), natural logarithm-transformed triglycerides (1.89; 1.52, 2.36), and ApoB (1.006; 1.002, 1.011) was independently associated with NAFLD incidence, and only triglycerides (0.77; 0.60, 0.99) was independently associated with NAFLD resolution. Our findings suggest that Chinese adults with hypertriglyceridemic hyperapoB have a higher risk of NAFLD incidence and a lower likelihood of NAFLD resolution. These associations were stable among adults with different demographic, lifestyle, and metabolic status, supporting hypertriglyceridemic hyperapoB as a valuable clinical marker for the prevention and control of NAFLD.