Evidence mapPaperPMID 41214773Full record

ArticleNutrition & metabolism2025

The association between hepatic fibrosis indicators and subclinical carotid atherosclerosis in the population with metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease under 50 years old.

Shuai Zhang, Hao Liang, Jun Liu, Ye Zhu

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Nutrition & metabolism, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

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Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

Shuai Zhang *Department of Gastroenterology, Northern Jiangsu People's Hospital Affiliated to Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, 225001, China.
Hao Liang *Department of Cardiology, Northern Jiangsu Peopl's Hospital Affiliated to Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, 225001, China.
Jun Liu *Department of Gastroenterology, Northern Jiangsu People's Hospital, Yangzhou, 225001, China.
Ye ZhuDepartment of Cardiology, Northern Jiangsu People's Hospital, Nantong West Road No. 98, Yangzhou, 225001, Jiangsu, China. 307971331@qq.com.

Funding

China Postdoctoral Science Foundation 2022M711417iangsu Province Traditional Chinese Medicine Project MS2023137The National Natural Science Foundation of China 81800250Yangzhou Science and Technology Plan Social Development Project YZ2023096
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectiveMetabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) and subclinical carotid atherosclerosis (SCA) share common roots in systemic inflammation and metabolic dysregulation. Hepatic fibrosis mirrors the intensity of these disturbances; however, its association with SCA in younger adults remains unclear.

methodsA total of 14 567 MASLD patients were enrolled from the health examination center of Northern Jiangsu People's Hospital. Participant stratification into SCA and non-SCA groups was based on carotid ultrasound findings. Variable selection was performed using Least Absolute Shrinkage and Selection Operator (LASSO) regression. The associations between the selected indicators and SCA risk were subsequently evaluated through multivariate logistic regression, restricted cubic spline (RCS) analysis, subgroup analysis, receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves, and mediation analysis.

resultsBoth LASSO and multivariate logistic regression analyses demonstrated that elevated NAFLD Fibrosis Score (NFS) and Fibrosis-4 (FIB-4) levels were positively correlated with the prevalence of SCA in patients with MASLD (P for trend < 0.001). Mediation analysis indicated that the Red-cell Distribution Width-to-Albumin Ratio (RAR) significantly mediated this association, with the mediated proportion ranging from 28.6% to 44.6% (P < 0·05). Subgroup analysis identified a significant interaction between age and the association of both fibrosis scores with SCA (P for interaction < 0.05). Subsequently, RCS analysis demonstrated significant positive non-linear associations between NFS/FIB-4 and SCA risk specifically in patients aged under 50 years (P for non-linear < 0.001). The area under the ROC curve (AUC) indicated that both scores had fair predictive value for SCA in this younger subgroup.

conclusionThis study confirms that elevated NFS and FIB-4 levels are significantly associated with an increased risk of SCA in MASLD patients, demonstrating a distinct non-linear relationship and fair predictive value, particularly in individuals under 50 years of age.

Indexed as

Carotid atherosclerosisCross-sectional studyFibrosis-4Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver diseaseNAFLD fibrosis score

Identifiers

PMID41214773
PMCPMC12604223

What Socratic holds

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.