Liver function tests and metabolic-associated fatty liver disease: Changes in upper normal limits, does it really matter?
File(s)
Published version
Author(s)
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
BACKGROUND:
Metabolic-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) is the commonest cause of abnormal liver function tests (LFTs). Current upper normal of limit (UNL) of LFTs was derived from a “healthy” population, where undiagnosed MAFLD and viral hepatitis might be suspected.
AIM :
To evaluated potential implications of changes in UNL of alanine aminotrans-ferase (ALT) in MAFLD.
METHODS:
We retrospectively assessed consecutive first referrals with a diagnosis of MAFLD from 2010 to 2017. The conventional UNL of ALT was 45 IU/L for men and 34 IU/L for women, while a low UNL of ALT was 30 IU/L for men and 19 IU/L for women. The UNL of aspartate aminotransferase (AST) was 40 IU/L.
RESULTS:
Total 436 patients were enrolled; of these, 288 underwent liver biopsy. Setting a lower UNL reduced the percentage of those with significant disease despite normal ALT; specifically, patients with advanced fibrosis (F ≥ F3) or definite “metabolic-associated steato-hepatitis (MASH)” (NAS ≥ 5) within normal ALT decreased from 10% to 1% and from 28% to 4% respectively. However, the proportion of those with elevated ALT and no evidence of advanced fibrosis or “definite MASH” increased from 39% to 47% and from 3% to 19%. Overall, LFTs performed poorly in distinguishing “definite MASH” from simple steatosis (receiver operating characteristic areas under the curves 0.59 for ALT and 0.55 for AST).
CONCLUSION:
Liver function tests might both under- and overestimate MASH-related liver disease. Reducing the UNL might not be beneficial and imply an increase in healthcare burden. Risk stratification in MAFLD should rely on a combination of risk factors, not on LFTs alone.
Metabolic-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) is the commonest cause of abnormal liver function tests (LFTs). Current upper normal of limit (UNL) of LFTs was derived from a “healthy” population, where undiagnosed MAFLD and viral hepatitis might be suspected.
AIM :
To evaluated potential implications of changes in UNL of alanine aminotrans-ferase (ALT) in MAFLD.
METHODS:
We retrospectively assessed consecutive first referrals with a diagnosis of MAFLD from 2010 to 2017. The conventional UNL of ALT was 45 IU/L for men and 34 IU/L for women, while a low UNL of ALT was 30 IU/L for men and 19 IU/L for women. The UNL of aspartate aminotransferase (AST) was 40 IU/L.
RESULTS:
Total 436 patients were enrolled; of these, 288 underwent liver biopsy. Setting a lower UNL reduced the percentage of those with significant disease despite normal ALT; specifically, patients with advanced fibrosis (F ≥ F3) or definite “metabolic-associated steato-hepatitis (MASH)” (NAS ≥ 5) within normal ALT decreased from 10% to 1% and from 28% to 4% respectively. However, the proportion of those with elevated ALT and no evidence of advanced fibrosis or “definite MASH” increased from 39% to 47% and from 3% to 19%. Overall, LFTs performed poorly in distinguishing “definite MASH” from simple steatosis (receiver operating characteristic areas under the curves 0.59 for ALT and 0.55 for AST).
CONCLUSION:
Liver function tests might both under- and overestimate MASH-related liver disease. Reducing the UNL might not be beneficial and imply an increase in healthcare burden. Risk stratification in MAFLD should rely on a combination of risk factors, not on LFTs alone.
Date Issued
2021-12-27
Date Acceptance
2021-11-18
Citation
World Journal of Hepatology, 2021, 13 (12), pp.2104-2112
ISSN
1948-5182
Publisher
Baishideng Publishing Group Co. Limited
Start Page
2104
End Page
2112
Journal / Book Title
World Journal of Hepatology
Volume
13
Issue
12
Copyright Statement
©The Author(s) 2021. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved. This article is an
open-access article that was
selected by an in-house editor and
fully peer-reviewed by external
reviewers. It is distributed in
accordance with the Creative
Commons Attribution
NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0)
license, which permits others to
distribute, remix, adapt, build
upon this work non-commercially,
and license their derivative works
on different terms, provided the
original work is properly cited and
the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
open-access article that was
selected by an in-house editor and
fully peer-reviewed by external
reviewers. It is distributed in
accordance with the Creative
Commons Attribution
NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0)
license, which permits others to
distribute, remix, adapt, build
upon this work non-commercially,
and license their derivative works
on different terms, provided the
original work is properly cited and
the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
License URL
Sponsor
European Association for the Study of Liver
European Association of the Study of the Liver
Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust- BRC Funding
Identifier
https://www.wjgnet.com/1948-5182/full/v13/i12/2104.htm
Grant Number
N/A
RDA02
Publication Status
Published
Date Publish Online
2021-12-27