Lipids & metabolic liver disease
Metabolic profiling of MRI ‐measured liver fat in the UK Biobank
Authors' conclusion
Hazardous metabolomic profiles are associated with ectopic hepatic fat and are relevant to risk of vascular-metabolic disease.
Study context
- Population
- UK Biobank participants with MRI-measured proton density liver fat fraction (PDFF) 5 years after metabolite measurement; main analysis among those without chronic disease and not taking statins
- Outcome
- Associations of 180 metabolites with PDFF (difference in SD units of each log metabolite with 1-SD higher PDFF)
- Follow-up
- PDFF measured 5 years later
Methodological detailsUK Biobank, metabolomic profiling
- UK Biobank
- Metabolomic profiling
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
Metabolite associations with liver fat
- Metabolites positively associated with liver fat after accounting for confounders, particularly extremely large and very large lipoprotein particles, VLDL TG, small HDL particles, glycoprotein acetyls, monounsaturated and saturated fatty acids, amino acids
- p < 0.0001 for 152 traits
Observational data: associations, not effects.
Further findings
Associations by vascular metabolic conditions
- Broadly comparable with vs without vascular metabolic conditions; negative rather than positive associations of intermediate-density and large LDL particles among those with BMI ≥25 kg/m², diabetes or CVD
Risk prediction for PDFF
- Metabolite principal components: significant improvement in risk prediction relative to BMI
- 15%
- Improvement twice as great as conventional HDL-C and TG (nonsignificant)
Original publication
Metabolic profiling of MRI ‐measured liver fat in the UK Biobank. Obesity (Silver Spring). Published 5 March 2023. doi:10.
Composed by AI from the published abstract and checked against it. How Briefs are made →