Association Between Fatty Liver and Inflammatory Biomarkers

The newly adapted definition for MASLD includes evidence for hepatic steatosis by imaging or biopsy with at least one of the five cardiometabolic criteria; BMI ≥ 25 kg/m2 (≥23 kg/m2 in Asian) or waist circumference \>94 cm in men, \>80 cm in women, fasting serum glucose ≥ 126 mg/dL or 2 hour post load glucose level ≥ 140 mg/dL or HbA1c ≥ 5.7% or on treatment for type 2 diabetes mellitus ,blood pressure ≥130/85 mmHg or antihypertensive treatment, plasma triglycerides ≥ 150 mg/dL or on lipid lowering drug, and plasma HDL cholesterol \< 40 mg/dL for men and \< 50 mg/dL for women or on lipid lowering drug treatment (Rinella et al., 2024).

These metabolic factors contribute to disease progression from simple steatosis to metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH), advanced fibrosis, cirrhosis, and hepatocellular carcinoma (Eid et al., 2024).

While multiple biological pathways contribute to MASLD pathogenesis; systemic inflammation has emerged as a pivotal mechanism linking metabolic dysfunction to liver injury (Bessone et al., 2019)