Background: The American Heart Association (AHA) recently released a new cardiovascular health (CVH) metric, Life’s Essential 8 (LE8). Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) shares many common risk factors with cardiovascular disease. We aim to analyze the relationship between LE8 and the risk of NAFLD; and assess the modification effects of socioeconomic status and genetic susceptibility.
Methods: We prospectively analyzed the association between LE8 and the risk of NAFLD among 141,504 participants from the UK Biobank. LE8 was defined by the AHA algorithm and categorized into low (0-49), moderate (50-79), and high (80-100) CVH.
Results: A higher LE8 score was associated with a significantly lower risk of NAFLD (p<0.001). Compared to individuals with a low CVH, the HR (95% CI) was 0.40 (0.34, 0.47) for those with a moderate CVH, and 0.12 (0.09, 0.16) for those with a high CVH. Townsend deprivation index (TDI) and education level modified the association between LE8 and NAFLD (p-int<0.001 for TDI and p-int=0.003 for education, Figure). The protective associations were more pronounced among those less deprived and those with higher education. Moreover, we observed a significant interaction between LE8 and genetic predisposition to NAFLD (p-int=0.023).
Conclusion: Adherence to a high LE8 is associated with a lower risk of NAFLD. Such relationships are modified socioeconomic status or lower genetic risk.
X. Li: None. Q. Xue: None. H. Ma: None. X. Wang: None. H. Feng: None. Y. Heianza: None. L. Qi: None.
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (HL071981, HL034594, HL126024); National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (DK115679, DK091718, DK100383); Fogarty International Center (TW010790)
