Published online Jul 27, 2020. doi: 10.4254/wjh.v12.i7.378
Peer-review started: January 11, 2020
First decision: April 18, 2020
Revised: May 25, 2020
Accepted: June 10, 2020
Article in press: June 10, 2020
Published online: July 27, 2020
Processing time: 193 Days and 6.4 Hours
Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a systemic disease with bidirectional relationships with cardiovascular disease (CVD). Non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is a more severe subtype of NAFLD. Patients with NASH exhibit more intra and extrahepatic inflammation, procoagulant imbalances and proatherogenic lipid profiles. Whether NASH increases the risk of ischemic heart disease is currently unclear.
To investigate the relationship between acute myocardial infarction (MI) and NASH in a large cohort of subjects in the United States.
We reviewed data from a large commercial database (Explorys IBM) that aggregates electronic health records from 26 large nationwide healthcare systems. Using systemized nomenclature of clinical medical terms (SNOMED CT), we identified adult with the diagnosis of NASH from 1999-2019. We included patients with the diagnosis of acute MI from 2018-2019. Comorbidities known to be associated with NASH and MI such as obesity, diabetes mellitus, hyperlipidemia, smoking, male gender, and hypertension were collected. Univariable and multivariable analyses were performed to investigate whether NASH is independently associated with the risk of MI.
Out of 55099280 patients, 43170 were diagnosed with NASH (0.08%) and 107000 (0.194%) had a MI within 2018-2019. After adjusting for traditional risk factors, NASH conferred greater odds of MI odds ratio (OR) 1.5 [95% confidence interval (CI): 1.40-1.62]. Hyperlipidemia had the strongest association with MI OR 8.39 (95%CI: 8.21-8.58) followed by hypertension OR 3.11 (95%CI: 3.05-3.17) and smoking OR 2.83 (95%CI: 2.79-2.87). NASH had a similar association with MI as the following traditional risk factors like age above 65 years OR 1.47 (95%CI: 1.45-1.49), male gender OR 1.53 (95%CI: 1.51-1.55) diabetes mellitus OR 1.89 (95%CI: 1.86-1.91).
MI appears to be a prevalent disease in NASH. Patients with NASH may need early identification and aggressive cardiovascular risk modification.
Core tip: Non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is a severe subtype of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. The progression of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease is mirrored by activation of hepatic and systemic inflammatory cascades that maybe implicated in the pathogenesis of cardiovascular disease. Using a large electronic medical record database, we performed a national-based population study to investigate the association between NASH and myocardial infarction (MI). In this large cohort study, NASH was associated with increased risk of MI independent of traditional risk factors. Close follow up and aggressive risk modification maybe indicated to prevent major cardiovascular events in patients with NASH.