Pattern of Serum Vitamin D in Individuals with non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver and ‎its Relation to Metabolic Dysfunction

Background: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) are major public health concerns. Besides the known risk factors, other risk factors, such as vitamin D deficiency, have been suggested for NAFLD. Objectives: This cross-sectional research aimed to investigate the relationship between serum vitamin D levels and NAFLD in a group of patients with T2DM. Methods: We investigated various clinical and biochemical parameters, including serum vitamin D level, liver function tests, and liver sonography in 1,110 adult patients with T2DM. The mean difference of numerical variables in NAFLD and non-NAFLD groups was analyzed with an independent sample t-test. Chi-square test was used to evaluate the association between two categorical variables. Results: Out of 1,110 patients with T2DM, 837 (75.4%) had NAFLD. The mean vitamin D level in diabetic patients with NAFLD was significantly lower than non-NAFLD group (19.71 ng/mL vs. 27.68 ng/mL, respectively; P < 0.001). Furthermore, 410 (49%) patients with NAFLD were found with vitamin D deficiency, while this value was 85 (31.1%) in non-NAFLD group. According to the results of univariate logistic regression analysis, vitamin D deficiency (OR = 3.87) and insufficient vitamin D (OR = 2.83) were the significant variables for NAFLD. Conclusions: There was a significant association between vitamin D deficiency and NAFLD in patients with T2DM.

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The Association between Vitamin D and Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease Assessed by Controlled Attenuation Parameter

Journal of Clinical Medicine ◽

10.3390/jcm10122611 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 10 (12) ◽

pp. 2611

Author(s):

Nam Ju Heo ◽

Hyo Eun Park ◽

Ji Won Yoon ◽

Min-Sun Kwak ◽

Jong In Yang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Vitamin D ◽

Liver Disease ◽

Fatty Liver ◽

Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease ◽

Fatty Liver Disease ◽

Serum Vitamin ◽

Controlled Attenuation Parameter ◽

Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver ◽

Serum Vitamin D ◽

Vitamin D Levels

Background: An association between nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and low vitamin D levels has been suggested. We investigated the relationship between vitamin D and NAFLD assessed by controlled attenuation parameter (CAP). Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study of apparently healthy subjects who underwent Fibroscan during health screening tests. NAFLD was diagnosed using CAP values. Results: Among the 1202 subjects (mean age 57.2 years, 60.6% male), 630 (52.4%) subjects had NAFLD with CAP ≥ 248 dB/m. Multivariable analysis was conducted after adjusting for metabolic risk factors including diabetes, hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, body mass index, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, triglyceride and smoking. Higher vitamin D levels showed a lower risk of NAFLD compared to the lowest quartile of vitamin D in a dose-dependent manner (OR 0.68, 95% CI 0.47–1.00 in Q2 vs. Q1; OR 0.65, 95% CI 0.44–0.94 in Q3 vs. Q1; and OR 0.64, 95% CI 0.44–0.94 in Q4 vs. Q1). The highest quartile of vitamin D showed a decreased risk of a severe grade of steatosis (CAP ≥ 302 dB/m) compared to the lowest quartile (OR 0.52, 95% CI 0.31–0.87 in Q4 vs. Q1). Conclusions: Higher levels of serum vitamin D were associated with a decreased risk of CAP-defined NAFLD, compared to low levels of serum vitamin D. The association between NAFLD and vitamin D suggests that vitamin D may exert a protective role against NAFLD.

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Low serum vitamin D concentrations are associated with obese but not lean NAFLD: a cross-sectional study

10.21203/rs.3.rs-74825/v2 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Qinqiu Wang ◽

Xiao-ying Shi ◽

Jinghua Wang ◽

Juanwen Zhang ◽

Cheng-Fu Xu

Keyword(s):

Vitamin D ◽

Serum Vitamin ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Sectional Study ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Alcoholic Fatty Liver ◽

Serum Vitamin D ◽

Vitamin D Levels ◽

Lean Nafld ◽

Low Serum

Abstract Background: A low serum vitamin D concentration has been reported to be associated with an increased risk of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD); however, whether lean or obese individuals show a similar association between vitamin D and NAFLD remains speculative. This study aimed to explore the relationship between serum vitamin D concentration and NAFLD in lean and obese Chinese adults.Methods: This cross-sectional study included 2538 participants (1360 men and 1178 women) who underwent health checkups at the First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine in 2019. NAFLD was diagnosed by liver ultrasound excluding other causes. The association of serum vitamin D concentration with NAFLD was analyzed in lean and obese participants.Results: The overall prevalence of NAFLD was 33.61% (13.10% in lean and 53.32% in obese) in this study population. The serum vitamin D levels of obese NAFLD patients were lower than those of obese NAFLD-free controls. However, the serum vitamin D levels of lean NAFLD patients were comparable to those of lean NAFLD-free controls. Serum vitamin D level was negatively correlated with the prevalence of NAFLD in obese but not lean participants. Serum vitamin D level was independently associated with the risk of NAFLD in obese participants, with an adjusted odds ratio (95% CI) of 0.987 (0.981–0.993). However, serum vitamin D level was not related to the risk of NAFLD in lean participants.Conclusions: A low serum vitamin D level is associated with NAFLD in obese but not lean participants.

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Beneficial Effects of Vitamin D Treatment in an Obese Mouse Model of Non-Alcoholic Steatohepatitis

Nutrients ◽

10.3390/nu11010077 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

pp. 77 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Daniel Jahn ◽

Donata Dorbath ◽

Stefan Kircher ◽

Anika Nier ◽

Ina Bergheim ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Vitamin D ◽

Intestinal Inflammation ◽

Serum Vitamin ◽

Liver Histology ◽

Timely Initiation ◽

Alcoholic Fatty Liver ◽

Serum Vitamin D ◽

Beneficial Effects ◽

Alcoholic Steatohepatitis ◽

Vitamin D Levels

Serum vitamin D levels negatively correlate with obesity and associated disorders such as non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). However, the mechanisms linking low vitamin D (VD) status to disease progression are not completely understood. In this study, we analyzed the effect of VD treatment on NASH in mice. C57BL6/J mice were fed a high-fat/high-sugar diet (HFSD) containing low amounts of VD for 16 weeks to induce obesity, NASH and liver fibrosis. The effects of preventive and interventional VD treatment were studied on the level of liver histology and hepatic/intestinal gene expression. Interestingly, preventive and to a lesser extent also interventional VD treatment resulted in improvements of liver histology. This included a significant decrease of steatosis, a trend towards lower non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) activity score and a slight non-significant decrease of fibrosis in the preventive treatment group. In line with these changes, preventive VD treatment reduced the hepatic expression of lipogenic, inflammatory and pro-fibrotic genes. Notably, these beneficial effects occurred in conjunction with a reduction of intestinal inflammation. Together, our observations suggest that timely initiation of VD supplementation (preventive vs. interventional) is a critical determinant of treatment outcome in NASH. In the applied animal model, the improvements of liver histology occurred in conjunction with reduced inflammation in the gut, suggesting a potential relevance of vitamin D as a therapeutic agent acting on the gut–liver axis.

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