The Relationship Between Liver Fibrosis Scores and Ascending Aortic Dilatation

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is related to an increased atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) risk. This study investigated a potential relationship between liver fibrosis scores (LFS) reflecting NAFLD and ascending aortic dilatation (AAD).

This is an observational and cross-sectional study. Patients were consecutively enrolled from a cardiology clinic. The NAFLD fibrosis score (NFS), fibrosis-4 (FIB-4) index, aspartate aminotransferase (AST) to platelet ratio (APRI), and BARD scores of each patient were calculated. The ascending aortic diameters were evaluated by transthoracic echocardiography according to current clinical guidelines. The patients were allocated into two groups with and without AAD.

A total of 272 patients were included in the study. In AAD group, age, patients with hypertension (HT), coronary artery disease (CAD), FIB-4 index, BARD score and the NFS were significantly higher. As compared to the AAD group, body mass index (BMI), hemoglobin, and diuretic use were significantly higher in patients without aortic dilatation. The NFS with AAD, and NFS and FIB-4 index with indexed aortic diameter (AI) showed significant positive correlation (R=0.546, R=0.332, R=0.314 with p<0.001, respectively). In multivariate logistic regression analysis hemoglobin levels (OR=0.728, 95%CI: 0.553-0.958; p=0.023), BMI (OR=0.762, 95%CI: 0.668-0.869, p<0.001), HT (OR=3.269, 95%CI: 1.045-10.220; p=0.042), BARD score (OR=1.248, 95%CIL 0.815-1.955; p=0.044), and FIB-4 index (OR=2.432, 95%CI: 1.395-4.246; p=0.002) were found to be independently related to AAD.

Our study demonstrated a statistically significant relationship between NFS, FIB-4 index, BARD score and AAD. The presence of positive correlation among LFS and AAD in our study is remarkable. This may emphasize the increased risk of AAD in NAFLD.