ABDA Score: A Non-invasive Model to Identify Subjects with Fibrotic Non-alcoholic Steatohepatitis in the Community

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) are prevalent in the community, especially among those with metabolic syndrome. Patients with fibrotic NASH are at increased risk of liver-related-events. Currently available non-invasive tests have not been utilized for screening for fibrotic NASH among the community. We aimed to develop a screening tool for fibrotic NASH among community members.

We included two large cohorts aimed at assessing cardiovascular disease among community members. Fibrotic NASH was defined using the FibroScan-aspartate aminotransferase score of ≥0.67 that identifies ≥F2 fibrosis and a non-alcoholic fatty liver disease activity score ≥4 with a specificity of 90%. Metabolic parameters, biochemical tests and anthropometry were used to develop a multivariate model.

The derivation cohort (n = 1660) included a population with a median age 45 years, 42.5% males, metabolic syndrome in 66% and 2.7% (n = 45) with fibrotic NASH. Multivariate analysis identified the four significant variables (Age, body mass index , Diabetes and alanine aminotransferas levels) used to derive an ABDA score. The score had high diagnostic accuracy (the area under receiver-operating characteristic curve, 0.952) with adequate internal validity. An ABDA score ≥-3.52 identified fibrotic NASH in the derivation cohort with a sensitivity and specificity of 88.9% and 88.3%. The score was validated in a second cohort (n = 357) that included 21 patients (5.9%) with fibrotic NASH, where it demonstrated a high area under receiver-operating characteristic curve (0.948), sensitivity (81%) and specificity (89.3%).

ABDA score utilizes four easily available parameters to identify fibrotic NASH with high accuracy in the community.