Photo Credit: Mohammed Haneefa Nizamudeen
The following is a summary of “Kidney and liver fat accumulation: from imaging to clinical consequences,” published in the December 2023 issue of Nephrology by Yıldız et al.
Building on evidence that excess fat in organs like the liver and kidneys fuels metabolic syndrome, researchers delved into a retrospective study to examine this link further.
Researchers started a retrospective study to explore the link between kidney and liver fat deposits measured by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and their potential connection to clinical and biochemical parameters.
They enrolled 51 volunteers exhibiting metabolic syndrome features (mean age = 34 years, mean body-mass index = 26.4 kg/m2) assessing liver and kidney adipose tissue via MRI-proton density fat fraction. Clinical and biochemical parameters were evaluated, including estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), urine albumin-to-creatinine ratio, serum lipid profile, liver function tests, and BMI.
The results showed a positive correlation between kidney and liver scores with markers such as BMI, urine albumin-to-creatinine ratio, and triglycerides (P<0.001), along with a negative correlation with eGFR (P<0.05) in univariate linear regression analysis. In multivariate analysis, urine albumin-to-creatinine ratio (P<0.05), triglycerides (P<0.01), eGFR (P<0.05), and BMI (P<0.001) were independently associated with kidney and liver fat accumulation, (R2 = 0.64; R2 = 0.89).
Investigators concluded that fat in the liver and kidneys joined hands with metabolic syndrome, hinting at a more profound role than just innocent bystanders.
Source: link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40620-023-01824-4