Abstract: Objective To investigate the correlation between cardiopulmonary exercise ability
and the severity of hepatic steatosis in patients with metabolic related fatty liver disease
(MAFLD). Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted on 400 patients diagnosed as
MAFLD by ultrasound at the Fatty Liver Center of the Infectious Disease Department of the
First People’s Hospital of Foshan from March 2018 to July 2022. The patients were divided
into mild group (240 dB/m < CAP ≤ 265 dB/m), moderate group (265 dB/m < CAP ≤ 295 dB/m)
and severe group (CAP > 295 dB/m) based on the controlled attenuation parameter (CAP)
value. Clinical data including body mass index (BMI), liver function [total bilirubin, direct
bilirubin, indirect bilirubin, alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST),
and γ-glutamyl transferase (GGT)] and metabolic indicators [triglycerides, total cholesterol,
insulin, fasting blood glucose, high-density lipoprotein (HDL) and low-density lipoprotein
(LDL)] were collected, and cardiopulmonary exercise testing was performed. Ordered multiclassification
Logistic regression was used to analyze the factors influencing the severity of
MAFLD. Pearson correlation analysis was conducted to assess the relationship between lipid
levels and peak oxygen consumption. Results The differences of BMI [(20.68 ± 1.50) kg/m2
vs. (21.56 ± 1.19) kg/m2 vs. (23.13 ± 1.91) kg/m2], LSM [(8.07 ± 0.93) kPa vs. (10.18 ± 1.13) kPa
vs. (13.96 ± 1.61) kPa], HDL [(1.16 ± 0.08) mmol/L vs. (1.13 ± 0.09) mmol/L vs. (1.02 ±
0.09) mmol/L], LDL [(3.28 ± 0.14) mmol/L vs. (3.34 ± 0.17) mmol/L vs. (3.51 ± 0.14) mmol/L],
triglycerides [(1.59 ± 0.08) mmol/L vs. (1.62 ± 0.06) mmol/L vs. (1.90 ± 0.20) mmol/L], total
cholesterol [(4.43 ± 0.43) mmol/L vs. (4.74 ± 0.46) mmol/L vs. (5.06 ± 0.21) mmol/L], body fat
[(31.79 ± 9.47) g/cm2 vs. (33.83 ± 7.67) g/cm2 vs. (34.76 ± 6.95) g/cm2] and body fat percentage
[(26.20 ± 3.56)% vs. (28.55 ± 5.73)% vs. (31.08 ± 4.46)%] of patients in mild group,
moderate group and severe group were statistically significant (all P < 0.05). Ordered multiclassification
Logistic regression showed that BMI (OR = 1.16, 95%CI: 1.05~1.27, P =
0.003), triglycerides (OR = 1.15, 95%CI: 1.00~1.32, P = 0.043), LDL (OR = 1.73, 95%CI:
1.12~2.67, P = 0.013), LSM (OR = 1.36, 95%CI: 1.19~1.54, P < 0.001), body fat (OR =
1.04, 95%CI: 0.84~1.25, P < 0.001) and body fat percentage (OR = 1.07, 95%CI: 1.03~1.12,
P = 0.001) were independent factors influencing the severity of liver steatosis in patients
with MAFLD, while HDL was a protective factor (OR = 0.07, 95%CI: 0.03~0.18, P < 0.001).
Cardiopulmonary exercise results showed that peak kilogram oxygen uptake [mild group vs.
moderate group vs. severe group: (21.39 ± 1.04) ml/(min·kg) vs. (20.93 ± 1.11) ml/(min·kg)
vs. (19.51 ± 1.26) ml/(min·kg)], peak oxygen pulse [mild group vs. moderate group vs. severe
group: (6.18 ± 0.31) ml/beat vs. (5.97 ± 0.33) ml/beat vs. (5.68 ± 0.19) ml/beat] and peak
metabolic equivalent (mild group vs. moderate group vs. severe group: 6.05 ± 0.25 vs. 5.82 ±
0.33 vs. 5.57 ± 0.25) further decreased as the degree of hepatic steatosis increased (all P <
0.05). Conclusions The level of blood lipids and the severity of hepatic steatosis in patients
with MAFLD were closely related to their cardiopulmonary exercise ability.
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