Evaluation of liver fibrosis level in patients with Type 2 diabetes with a non-invasive method

EVALUATION OF LIVER FIBROSIS LEVEL IN PATIENTS WITH TYPE 2 DIABETES WITH A NON-INVASIVE METHOD AIM MASLD is the most common chronic liver disease worldwide. The pathogenesis of the disease involves TG accumulation in hepatocytes, which leads to hepatocyte damage and fibrosis. T2DM accelerates both the development of MASLD and the progression to fibrosis in hepatocytes on the basis of MASLD. The gold standard method for demonstrating hepatocyte damage is biopsy. However, it is not preferred because it is both invasive and carries a risk of developing complications. In recent years, non-invasive biomarkers (such as FIB-4, NFS and APRI) have been used as an alternative to biopsy. These biomarkers are easy to apply and low-cost tests. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of FIB-4 in patients with T2DM and MASLD. MATERIAL AND METHOD This study is a prospective and cross-sectional study, and ethics committee approval was obtained before the study. Among the patients with T2DM evaluated within the scope of the study, those diagnosed with MASLD by USG were included in the study. The FIB-4 value of the entire group was calculated and correlation analysis of clinical and laboratory data obtained with FIB-4 was performed. RESULTS In this study, 1000 participants (389 male, 611 female) were evaluated and the mean age of the group was 57.28±11.64 years. The mean FIB-4 of the whole group was 1.03±0.57. FIB-4 was <1.3 in 79.4% (n=794) of the patients, between 1.3-2.67 in 18.9% (n=189) and >2.67 in 1.7% (n=17). In the whole group correlation analysis (n=1000); A statistically significant relationship was found between FIB-4 and T2DM duration, urea, BUN, creatinine, eGFR, TC, TG, LDL and uric acid [respectively (p<0.001), (p<0.001), (p<0.001), (p=0.001), (p=0.001), (p=0.008), (p=0.010), (p=0.023), (p=0.028)]. CONCLUSION In conclusion, in this single-center and small-scale study (n=1000) conducted in a patient group, FIB-4 was shown to be a parameter associated with liver fibrosis and is thought to be important in the screening and follow-up of T2DM patients. Keywords: Fatty Liver, FIB-4, Fibrosis, MASLD, T2DM