Visceral fat density shows stronger association with NAFLD incidence than visceral fat area

The visceral fat area (VFA) index and visceral fat density (VFD) are independently related to the prevalence of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), according to a study. However, the VFD appears to have a stronger link to the incidence of NAFLD than the VFA index.

The cross-sectional, retrospective cohort study examined the prevalence and incidence of NAFLD in 627 and 360 middle-aged individuals, respectively.

Researchers measured visceral adipose tissue (VAT) using an unenhanced computed tomography scan and assessed NAFLD using ultrasonography. They calculated the VFA index by normalizing the VAT area to the square value of the participants’ height in meters. The VAT density was defined as the visceral fat density (VFD).

Both VFA index and VFD independently correlated with the prevalence of NAFLD (p=0.0059). On logistic regression analysis, the adjusted odds ratio for prevalent NAFLD was 1.04 (95 percent confidence interval [CI], 1.01−1.07) per 1.0 cm²/m² of VFA index (p=0.0145) and 0.90 (95 percent CI, 0.84−0.96) per 1.0 Hounsfield unit [HU] of VFD (p=0.0026).

Thirty-six out of 360 participants developed NAFLD. Cox regression analysis showed that the VFD was the sole predictor of NAFLD incidence (per 1.0 HU: adjusted hazard ratio, 0.84, 95 percent CI, 0.77−0.91; p<0.0001). The VFA index was not associated with the outcome.