Hepatic fibrosis assessed using transient elastography independently associated with coronary artery calcification

Background and Aim Non‐alcoholic fatty liver disease ( NAFLD ) has a close relationship with coronary atherosclerosis. We investigated the association between coronary atherosclerosis and liver fibrosis, represented as coronary artery calcification ( CAC ) score, and live stiffness ( LS ) value assessed using transient elastography ( TE ), respectively, in patients with NAFLD . Methods Between J anuary 2013 and M arch 2014, a total of 285 asymptomatic subjects without chronic liver and ischemic heart diseases who underwent comprehensive medical health check‐up were recruited. NAFLD was defined as controlled attenuation parameter ( CAP ) ≥ 250 dB/m on TE . Results The median age of the study population (men 161 and women 124) was 56 (interquartile [ IQR ], 50–63) years. Of these, 142 (49.8%) subjects had NAFLD . Among subjects with NAFLD , CAC score was independently correlated with the male gender (β = 0.230; P  = 0.010), elevated erythrocyte sedimentation rate (β = 0.220; P  = 0.019), reduced estimated glomerular filtration rate (β=−0.220; P  = 0.004), increased left ventricular mass index (β = 0.226; P  = 0.027), and higher LS values (β = 0.274; P  < 0.001). In addition, alanine aminotransferase level (β = 0.214, P  = 0.012) and CAC score (β = 0.311; P  = 0.001) are the only independent factors associated with LS values in subjects with NAFLD . Conclusions Higher CAC score was independently correlated with LS values in subjects with NAFLD . However, it should be further investigated whether TE can be incorporated into a screening tool to identify the high‐risk population for coronary artery disease.