Life’s essential’ 8 (LE8) is a newly updated cardiovascular health (CVH) metrics from the American Heart Association, with close relevance to metabolism. Our objective is to explore the association between LE8 scores and incidence of metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) and advanced liver fibrosis in American adults.
This population-based cross-sectional study utilized data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) conducted between 2005 and 2018, encompassing adults aged 20 years or older. Validated non-invasive scoring systems were employed to define liver steatosis and advanced liver fibrosis. Multivariable logistic regression and smooth curve fitting techniques were applied to evaluate the associations. All analyses were adjusted for the survey’ complex design parameters and accounted for sample weights.
A total of 11,820 participants were included. A higher LE8 score was found to be inversely associated with the incidence of MAFLD and advanced liver fibrosis, with odds ratios (OR) of 0.64 (95% CI: 0.57–0.71) for MAFLD and 0.75 (95% CI: 0.61–0.92) for advanced liver fibrosis per 1 standard deviation (SD) increase in LE8 score. Similar patterns were found in the relationship between health behaviors/factors score and incidence of MAFLD and advanced liver fibrosis. In subgroup analyses, the interaction test showed that age, education level, marital status, CVD, hypertension and diabetes had a significant impact on the association between LE8 score and MAFLD (all
LE8 and its subscales score were inversely associated with the presence of MAFLD and advanced liver fibrosis in non-linear patterns. Optimal LE8 score may significantly reduce the risk of liver steatosis and fibrosis.