Fibrosis-4 index is closely associated with future development of hypertension in the Japanese general population

Area of Science:

• Cardiology
• Hepatology
• Public Health

Background:

• The fibrosis-4 index (FIB-4) is a noninvasive biomarker for liver fibrosis.
• Previous studies link FIB-4 to cardiovascular events.
• The association between FIB-4 and new-onset hypertension in the general population is not well-established.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the hypothesis that the fibrosis-4 index is associated with the development of new-onset hypertension.
• To evaluate FIB-4 as a predictive tool for hypertension risk in a general population cohort.

Main Methods:

• Prospective cohort study involving 8719 initially normotensive individuals from a health checkup program.
• Participants were categorized into low, intermediate, and high FIB-4 index groups.
• Follow-up for a median of 1739 days to ascertain new-onset hypertension using Kaplan-Meier and Cox hazard regression analyses.

Main Results:

• A higher baseline fibrosis-4 index was significantly associated with an increased risk of developing new-onset hypertension.
• Individuals in the high FIB-4 group had the highest incidence of hypertension (69.4 per 1000 person-years).
• Log-transformed FIB-4 index was an independent predictor of new hypertension (HR 4.279, 95% CI 3.318-5.518).

Conclusions:

• The fibrosis-4 index is a valuable, noninvasive tool for assessing the risk of developing hypertension in the general population.
• Findings suggest potential shared pathophysiological pathways between liver fibrosis and hypertension.
• Further research is warranted to explore the common basis linking liver fibrosis and hypertension.