Association between cardiometabolic index and hepatic steatosis and liver fibrosis: a population-based study.

Background: The cardiometabolic index (CMI) is a new type of obesity index that is based on a combination of lipid levels and abdominal obesity indicators. It is closely correlated with the occurrence of diabetes mellitus, atherosclerosis, hypertension, and other diseases, thus playing an important role in the screening of metabolic diseases. This is coupled with hepatic steatosis and fibrosis which are characterized by excessive liver fat deposition. The aim of this study was to investigate the possible association between CMI and hepatic steatosis and liver fibrosis.

Methods: A cross-sectional investigation was conducted using the 2017-2020 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) dataset to probe the relationship between CMI and hepatic steatosis and liver fibrosis, while multiple linear regression models were used to test the linear association between CMI and controlled attenuation parameter (CAP) and liver stiffness measurement (LSM). Smooth-fit curves and threshold effects analysis were used to describe the nonlinear relationships. Subgroup analyses were performed according to gender, age, body mass index (BMI), hypertension, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and smoking status.

Results: A total of 3084 adults aged 18-80 years were included in this analysis, and after controlling for a variety of variables, there was a significant positive correlation between CMI and CAP [20.38 (16.27,24.49)]. When subgroups were analyzed, this positive correlation was found to be stronger in the female population than in the male (P for interaction = 0.0303). Furthermore, the association between CMI and CAP was nonlinear. Using multiple regression analysis, it was shown that the linear relationship between CMI and liver fibrosis was not significant [-0.09 (-0.47,0.29)].

Conclusions: The findings suggest that elevated CMI levels are associated with hepatic steatosis, but that CMI is not linked to liver fibrosis. Larger prospective investigations are needed to confirm our findings.