The Interplay Between Diabetes, Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease, and Cardiovascular Disease

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and type 2 diabetes are closely associated, and both are related to excess risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD). South Korean researchers used a national database to examine the interplay between type 2 diabetes, NAFLD, and CVD in ≈8 million adults with low alcohol intake and no diagnoses of chronic hepatitis or cirrhosis. NAFLD was identified indirectly using the fatty liver index), a tool that incorporates four variables (body-mass index, waist circumference, triglycerides, and γ-glutamyl transpeptidase level) and correlates fairly well with steatosis on liver imaging.

At baseline, 6% of patients had type 2 diabetes, 22% had grade 1 NAFLD, and 11% had grade 2 NAFLD (according to the fatty liver ind…