Sex-specific contribution of lipid accumulation product and cardiometabolic index in the identification of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease among Chinese adults

Abstract Background Lipid accumulation product (LAP) and cardiometabolic index (CMI) are two novel obesity-related indexes associated with enhancing metabolic disease (MD) risk. Current evidences suggest that the differences in sex hormones and regional fat distribution in both sexes are directly correlated with MD and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) risk. Hence, NAFLD incidences reflect sex differences. Herein, we examined the accuracy of LAP and CMI in diagnosing NAFLD in both sexes. Methods Overall, 14,407 subjects, who underwent health check-up in the northeastern China, were enrolled in this study, and their corresponding LAP and CMI were calculated. Abdominal ultrasonography was employed for NAFLD diagnosis. Multivariate analyses were analyzed potential correlations between LAP and/or CMI and NAFLD. Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were evaluated. Receiver operating characteristic curve analyses was executed for the exploration of the diagnostic accuracies. Areas under the curves (AUCs) with 95%CIs were calculated. Results NAFLD prevalence increased with elevated quartiles of LAP and CMI in both sexes. In multivariate logistic regression analyses, LAP and CM expressed as continuous variables or quartiles, significantly correlated with NAFLD. The ORs for the top versus bottom quartile of LAP and CMI for NAFLD were 13.183 (95%CI = 8.512–20.417) and 8.662 (95%CI = 6.371–11.778) in women and 7.544 (95%CI = 5.748–9.902) and 5.400 (95%CI = 4.297–6.786) in men. LAP and CMI exhibited larger AUCs, compared to other obesity-related indexes in terms of discriminating NAFLD. The AUCs of LAP and CMI were 0.860 (95%CI = 0.852–0.867) and 0.833 (95%CI = 0.825–0.842) in women and 0.816 (95%CI = 0.806–0.825) and 0.779 (95%CI = 0.769–0.789) in men. Conclusions LAP and CMI are convenient indexes for the screening and quantification of NAFLD within a Chinese adult population. Their associations with NAFLD are substantially greater in women than men.