Sarcopenia Is Independently Associated with the Degree of Liver Fibrosis in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus
Min Je Sung, Tae Seop Lim, Mi Young Jeon, Hye Won Lee, Beom Kyung Kim, Do Young Kim, Sang Hoon Ahn, Kwang‐Hyub Han, Jun Yong Park, Seung Up Kim
Abstract
Background/Aims: Sarcopenia is associated with liver fibrosis in patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease and chronic hepatitis B. We investigated the association between sarcopenia and hepatic fibrotic burden in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Methods: Patients with T2DM who had received a comprehensive medical health checkup were recruited. Muscle mass was assessed using computed tomography. Fibrotic burden was assessed using the fibrosis-4 index (FIB-4). The study population was divided by quartile stratification of the lumbar skeletal muscle index (LSMI). Results: (n=165), those with sarcopenia (n=54, 32.7%) had a significantly higher FIB-4 than those without (n=111, 67.3%; 1.66 vs 1.38, p=0.004). Conclusions: Sarcopenia is independently associated with fibrotic burden in patients with T2DM. Further studies should investigate whether the improvement of sarcopenia can ameliorate liver fibrosis in patients with T2DM.