Abstract
Background
Thyroid hormone (TH) disorders increased the risk of metabolic dysfunction-associated
fatty liver disease (MAFLD).
Aim
To assess whether the association between TH and MAFLD is mediated via metabolic dysfunctions
and varies among MAFLD subtypes (diabetes-MAFLD, overweight/obesity-MAFLD, metabolic
disorders-MAFLD).
Methods
A total of 18,427 participants (661 diabetes-MAFLD, 3,600 overweight/obesity-MAFLD,
691 metabolic disorder-MAFLD cases, 13,475 non-MAFLD controls) from a Chinese hospital
were enrolled. Hepatic ultrasound measurements and thyroid function were assessed.
Results
Overweight/obesity mediated the associations of MAFLD with triiodothyronine (T3),
free triiodothyronine (FT3), free thyroxine (FT4), and the mediator accounted for
46.43%, 39.69%, and 42.68%, respectively. Metabolic disorder mediated the association
of MAFLD with T3, FT3, FT4, thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH), and the mediator accounted
for 36.57%, 23.19%, 34,65%, and 60.92%, respectively. Diabetes did not complementary
mediate any association between TH and MAFLD. Elevated T3, FT3, TSH and decreased
FT4 increased the risk of overweight/obesity-MAFLD, and the odds ratios were 1.59,
1.72, 1.18, and 0.60, respectively (Q4 vs.Q1, false discovery rate (FDR)<0.05). Elevated T3, FT3, and decreased FT4 increased
the risk of metabolic disorder-MAFLD, and the odds ratios were 1.45, 1.33, and 0.52,
respectively (Q4 vs.Q1, FDR<0.05). No significant association between TH and diabetes-MAFLD was detected.
Conclusion
The association between TH and MAFLD is mediated by overweight/obesity and metabolic
disorders and varies among MAFLD subtypes.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: December 17, 2022
Accepted:
November 30,
2022
Received:
August 20,
2022
Publication stage
In Press Corrected ProofIdentification
Copyright
© 2022 Editrice Gastroenterologica Italiana S.r.l. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
