Association Between Metabolic-Associated Fatty Liver Disease and Obstructive Sleep Apnea: A Cross-Sectional Study

Jiefeng Huang; Lida Chen; Xiuling Li; Menglan Chen; Ting Lin; Gongping Chen

doi:10.2147/NSS.S398971

Association Between Metabolic-Associated Fatty Liver Disease and Obstructive Sleep Apnea: A Cross-Sectional Study

Nat Sci Sleep. 2023 Feb 28:15:49-57. doi: 10.2147/NSS.S398971. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Jiefeng Huang^#^{1

2

3}, Lida Chen^#⁴, Xiuling Li^#^{1

2

3}, Menglan Chen^{1

2

3}, Ting Lin^{1

2

3}, Gongping Chen^{1

2

3}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, the First Affiliated Hospital of Fujian Medical University, Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou, People's Republic of China.
² Institute of Respiratory Disease, Fujian Medical University, Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou, People's Republic of China.
³ Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, National Regional Medical Center, Binhai Campus of the First Affiliated Hospital, Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou, People's Republic of China.
⁴ Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, Zhangzhou Affiliated Hospital of Fujian Medical University, Xiangcheng, Zhangzhou, People's Republic of China.

^# Contributed equally.

Abstract

Aim: Emerging evidence has revealed that obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is an independent risk factor for the development of a variety of adverse metabolic disease states. In this study, we evaluated the association between OSA severity and metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) among Asian populations.

Materials and methods: This was a cross-sectional, single-center study. The study cohort consisted of patients undergoing polysomnography and abdominal ultrasonography. Logistic regression analysis was used to evaluate the independent risk factors of MAFLD in patients with OSA.

Results: A total of 1065 patients (277 non-MAFLD and 788 MAFLD) were included in the study. The prevalence of MAFLD in non-OSA, mild-moderate OSA, and severe OSA patients was 58.16%, 72.41%, and 78.0%, respectively (p < 0.001). We identified significant differences in body mass index (BMI), apnea-hypopnea index (AHI), oxygen desaturation index (ODI), and lowest O₂ saturation (LaSO₂) between non-MAFLD and MAFLD patients (all p < 0.001). After adjusting for confounding variables, we used multivariate regression analysis to show that BMI, ODI, and triglyceride (TG) levels independently predicted the occurrence of MAFLD (odds ratio [OR] = 1.234, p < 0.001; OR = 1.022, p = 0.013; OR = 1.384, p = 0.001, respectively). Moreover, stratified analysis according to BMI indicated that TG levels were the predominant risk factor for MAFLD in a group of patients with a BMI < 23 kg/m², while BMI, ODI, TG levels, and total cholesterol (TC) were the major risk factors for MAFLD in a group of patients with a BMI ≥ 23 kg/m² (all p < 0.05).

Conclusion: OSA-associated chronic intermittent hypoxia was independently associated with the risk of MAFLD, especially in OSA patients with a BMI ≥ 23 kg/m², suggesting that oxidative stress might play an important role in the pathogenesis of MAFLD in patients with OSA.

Keywords: chronic intermittent hypoxia; metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease; obesity; obstructive sleep apnea.

Grants and funding

The work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 82070088) and Natural Science Foundation of Fujian Province (No. 2020J01985).