Prescription of statins in suspected non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and high cardiovascular risk, a population-based study

BACKGROUND & AIMS: The prevalence of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is increasing, with concomitant high incidence of lipoprotein abnormalities. Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the main cause of death in subjects with NAFLD and management of dyslipidemia is pivotal for prevention. We aimed to determine cardiovascular risk and indication for statin therapy in subjects with NAFLD. METHODS: Cross sectional analysis of the population-based Lifelines Cohort Study of 34,240 adult individuals. Subjects with reported use of lipid-lowering drugs were excluded. Suspected NAFLD was defined as Fatty Liver Index (FLI) ≥60 and advanced hepatic fibrosis as NAFLD fibrosis score (NFS) >0.676. Cardiovascular risk and indication for statin therapy were defined according to the European Society of Cardiology and European Atherosclerosis Society Guideline for the Management of Dyslipidemias. RESULTS: FLI≥60 was present in 7,067 (20.6%) participants and coincided with increased prevalence of type 2 diabetes mellitus, metabolic syndrome, CVD and impaired renal function (all P0.676 (73.2% vs. 30.6%, P0.676 (OR 5.03, 95%CI: 2.76-9.17%, P