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Updated: Jun 4, 2025
Novel In Vivo Micro-Computed Tomography Imaging Techniques for Assessing the Progression of Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease
Published on: March 24, 2023
Liver Fibrosis and Cardiovascular Events
Nso Nso1, Kaveh Rezaei Bookani1, Mia Trimingham2
1From the Department of Medicine, Division of Cardiovascular Disease, University of Chicago-Northshore Program, Evanston, Illinois.
Liver fibrosis, identified by noninvasive scores like FIB-4 and NFS, independently predicts cardiovascular events and mortality in NAFLD patients. These simple scores aid in risk assessment for cardiovascular disease.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Hepatology
- Public Health
Background:
- Liver fibrosis is a common complication of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).
- Noninvasive liver fibrosis scores (LFSs) assess fibrosis severity.
- The predictive value of LFSs for future cardiovascular events (CVEs) is not well-established.
Purpose of the Study:
- To systematically review the association between liver fibrosis and CVEs.
- To evaluate the utility of LFSs, specifically the Fibrosis-4 (FIB-4) Index and NAFLD Fibrosis Score (NFS), in predicting CVEs.
Main Methods:
- Systematic review of prospective studies from PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library.
- Eligibility screening and quality assessment using the National Institutes of Health tool.
- Included 12 high to fair quality studies.
Main Results:
- 10 out of 12 studies found LFSs independently associated with increased risk of CVEs, cardiovascular mortality, and all-cause mortality.
- Advanced liver fibrosis (grade 3-4) correlated with CVE occurrence.
- NAFLD patients exhibited higher CVE risk regardless of fibrosis severity.
Conclusions:
- Liver fibrosis in NAFLD patients is an independent predictor of adverse cardiovascular outcomes and mortality.
- Noninvasive LFSs (FIB-4, NFS) are valuable tools for predicting CVEs in diverse patient populations.
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