Analysis of the correlation between non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and bone metabolism indicators in healthy middle-aged men

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the relationship between bone metabolic indicators and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in healthy middle-aged men. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The bone metabolic indicators of 232 healthy middle-age men with NAFLD (NAFLD group) and 308 healthy controls without fatty liver (Control group) were measured, including non-collagenous osteocalcin, the procollagen type 1 N-terminal propeptide (P1NP), beta-C-terminal telopeptide of type I collagen (beta-CTX). The Student's t-test was used to analyze the differences in the bone metabolic indicators, age, clinical data, biochemical indicators, and the indicators of glucose and lipid metabolism between the two groups. The correlation of fatty liver-related indicators was detected using the logistic regression analysis. RESULTS: The body mass index (BMI), diastolic blood pressure, and heart rate in NAFLD group were significantly higher than those in Control group. Among the indicators of glucose and lipid metabolism in NAFLD group, the levels of blood glucose [fasting plasma glucose, postprandial blood glucose and hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c)] were significantly higher than those in Control group. In addition, the insulin resistance and secretion indexes were also significantly higher than those in Control group. The levels of lipid metabolic indicators such as triglyceride were higher, but high-density lipoprotein cholesterol was lower than that in Control group. From logistic regression analysis, the BMI, Homeostasis model assessment (HOMA)-beta, HOMA-IR, HbA1c and P1NP were positively associated with the occurrence of NAFLD. CONCLUSIONS: The bone metabolic indicator P1NP might be a potential predicator for the diagnosis of NAFLD in clinical application.