Associations between MASLD phenotypes and the risk of carotid artery plaque: a cross-sectional study among railway workers.

Aims: Current evidence on the association between metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) phenotypes to carotid artery plaque (CAP) remains limited. This study aims to investigate both the association and the potential mediating effects of MASLD phenotypes on the risk of CAP.

Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 8644 participants were categorized into five groups based on hepatic steatosis and cardiometabolic criteria: Non-hepatic steatosis, Dysglycemia-MASLD, Overweight-MASLD, Lean-MASLD, and other hepatic steatosis. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was conducted to evaluate the association between MASLD phenotypes and CAP. Mediation analyses were performed to evaluate the mediating effect of dysglycemia and body mass index (BMI) on the relationship between MASLD and CAP.

Results: The Dysglycemia-MASLD group exhibited the highest prevalence of CAP of 26.28%, followed by the Lean-MASLD (18.55%) and Overweight-MASLD (14.39%) groups. After adjusting for covariates, Dysglycemia-MASLD patients had a significantly higher risk of CAP, with an OR of 1.599 (95% CI 1.348, 1.896). Notably, individuals under 45 in the Dysglycemia-MASLD and Lean-MASLD subgroups had more than a two-fold increased risk of CAP compared to the Non-hepatic steatosis group, with ORs of 2.393 (95% CI 1.660, 3.416) and 2.724 (95% CI 1.002, 6.221), respectively. Mediation analysis indicated that dysglycemia and BMI mediated 30.86% and 24.49% of the association of MASLD with CAP.

Conclusion: The risk of developing CAP varies across MASLD phenotypes, with Dysglycemia-MASLD and Lean-MASLD patients exhibiting the highest risk. Therefore, personalized health management strategies are essential for different MASLD phenotypes.