Evidence mapPaperPMID 41540360Full record

ArticleBMC gastroenterology2026

Comparison of diagnostic value of abdominal obesity and metabolism-related indicators for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in lean individuals.

Hailong Zhang, Meng Guo, Xiao Liang, Dan Wan, Chunli Zhang, Fanfan Liang, Sijia Chen, Qian Wang, Zongfang Li

Abstract readComparative Study
In one paragraph

Article in BMC gastroenterology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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1 · What the graph read from it

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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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3 · Its place in the literature

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4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors.

Hailong Zhang *National and Local Joint Engineering Research Center of Biodiagnosis and Biotherapy, the Second Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, 710004, China.
Meng Guo *Department of Health Management, the Second Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, 710004, China.
Xiao LiangNational and Local Joint Engineering Research Center of Biodiagnosis and Biotherapy, the Second Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, 710004, China.
Dan WanNational and Local Joint Engineering Research Center of Biodiagnosis and Biotherapy, the Second Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, 710004, China.
Chunli ZhangNational and Local Joint Engineering Research Center of Biodiagnosis and Biotherapy, the Second Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, 710004, China.
Fanfan LiangNational and Local Joint Engineering Research Center of Biodiagnosis and Biotherapy, the Second Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, 710004, China.
Sijia ChenNational and Local Joint Engineering Research Center of Biodiagnosis and Biotherapy, the Second Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, 710004, China.
Qian WangDepartment of Health Management, the Second Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, 710004, China. 948903566@qq.com.
Zongfang LiNational and Local Joint Engineering Research Center of Biodiagnosis and Biotherapy, the Second Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, 710004, China. lzf2568@xjtu.edu.cn.

Funding

the Natural Science Foundation of Shaanxi Province no. 2023-JC-QN-0918
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundNon-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) has become the most prevalent chronic liver disease globally. The present study aims to investigate the diagnostic value of abdominal obesity and metabolism-related indicators for NAFLD in lean individuals.

methodsThis cross-sectional study enrolled 894 participants diagnosed with fatty liver via ultrasound between July 2023 and July 2024. Patients with a body mass index (BMI) < 24 kg/m2 were defined as having “lean NAFLD”. Exclusion criteria included excessive alcohol consumption, viral hepatitis, and other conditions that may affect liver function. The normal control group comprised 1000 individuals with a BMI < 24 kg/m2 who underwent a normal physical examination during the same period. Basic characteristics and biochemical test results were compared between the two groups. Additionally, abdominal obesity and metabolism-related indicators were calculated, including the lipid accumulation product (LAP), waist-triglyceride index (WTI), body roundness index (BRI), waist-to-height ratio (WHtR), cardiometabolic index (CMI), triglyceride-glucose (TyG) index, and visceral adiposity index (VAI).

resultsWe found that BMI, waist circumference, waist-hip ratio, fasting blood glucose, blood pressure and blood lipids in the group of lean NAFLD were higher than those of normal control group and statistically different (P < 0.001). Abdominal obesity and metabolism-related indexes were significantly higher than those of the control group (P < 0.001). The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves analyzed the diagnostic effect of the seven indexes for lean NAFLD, and found that LAP had the best effect (area under curve (AUC) = 0.889; 95% confidence interval (CI):0.874–0.903, sensitivity was 81.4%, specificity was 82.5%, and the Youden’s index was 0.639). Regression analysis after categorization based on cutoff values and adjusting for multiple confounders showed that LAP still had good risk prediction ability. The BMI < 24 kg/m2 population was stratified based on the presence of central obesity, and it was determined that LAP and BRI maintain their capacity to predict lean NAFLD in subjects with non-central obesity.

conclusionsCompared with other indicators, LAP has highest value in the diagnosis of NAFLD in normal BMI population, while BRI has some application value as a morphologic indicator. LAP and BRI still have diagnostic effect in people with normal BMI and non-central obesity.

Indexed as

Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver DiseaseObesity, AbdominalAdultBlood GlucoseBody Mass IndexCase-Control StudiesCross-Sectional StudiesFemaleHumansLipid Accumulation ProductMaleMiddle AgedROC CurveTriglyceridesUltrasonographyWaist CircumferenceBlood GlucoseTriglyceridesBRICentral obesityLAPNAFLDNormal BMI

Identifiers

PMID41540360
PMCPMC12892762

What Socratic holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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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.