Predictors of Hepatic Fat Fraction Measured by Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Adults with Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease

Introduction: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is mechanistically linked to diminished insulin sensitivity, but few studies have addressed whether clinical and metabolic abnormalities related to insulin resistance (IR) predict hepatic fat accumulation assessed by magnetic resonance imaging.This study aimed to examine the association between IR-related clinical and biochemical abnormalities and hepatic fat fraction (HFF) in subjects with overweight/obesity.Materials and Methods: Adults with overweight and NAFLD detected by abdominal sonography were included and assessed demographic, clinical, anthropometric, and metabolic variables.They also underwent chemical-shift magnetic resonance imaging to determine HFF.Results: A total of 47 subjects (29 male and 18 female) were included, most (27; 72.3%) had normal glucose tolerance, and median HFF was 15.9%.Serum triglyceride levels were significantly higher among subjects with HFF above the median when compared with those with HFF below the median.Subgroup analysis indicated that fasting plasma insulin levels and HOMA-IR were significantly correlated with HFF among men but not women, and fasting plasma glucose levels were significantly correlated with HFF among women but not men.Conclusion: Our findings indicate that serum triglyceride levels predict HFF in people with overweight/obesity and that there may be a sexual dimorphic relationship between IR-related biochemical abnormalities and hepatic fat content, pointing to the complex physiopathology of the disease.