Influence of Insulin Resistance and Adipokines in the Grade of Steatosis of Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease

The objective of this work was to study the influence of insulin resistance and adipokines on the grade of steatosis in patients with NAFLD (nonalcoholic fatty liver disease) diagnosed by liver biopsy. A sample of 24 NAFLD patients was analyzed in a cross-sectional study. All patients with a two-week weight-stabilization period before recruitment were enrolled. A liver biopsy was realized. Weight, basal glucose, insulin, insulin resistance (HOMA), total cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol, triglycerides, and adipokines blood levels were measured. A nutritional evaluation (dietary intake, indirect calorimetry, and bioimpedance) was performed. The mean age was 41.6 ± 8.7 years and the mean body mass index (BMI) 29.4 ± 4.7. Twelve patients had a low grade of steatosis (grade 1 of the Brunt classification) and 12 patients had a high grade of steatosis (grade 2 or 3). Only HOMA was higher in patients with a high grade of steatosis (1.4 ± 0.5 vs. 2.8 ± 1.7 units; P < 0.05). Anthropometric data and dietary intake were similar for both groups. Blood levels of adiponectin were higher in patients with a low grade of steatosis (37.7 ± 22.5 vs. 24.2 ± 33 ng mL⁻¹; P < 0.05). Blood levels of resistin were higher in patients with a high grade of steatosis (2.36 ± 0.6 vs. 2.8 ± 0.6 mg mL⁻¹; P < 0.05), without differences in TNF-α or leptin levels. In logistic regression analysis, the HOMA-IR remained in the model, with an odds ratio to develop high grade of steatosis of 7.8 (95% CI: 1.8–75) with each 1 unit of HOMA-IR adjusted by age, sex, BMI, and dietary intake. This study demonstrates that insulin resistance determined with the HOMA model is associated with a high grade of steatosis in patients with NAFLD.