Could triglyceride to high density lipoprotein-cholesterol ratio predict hepatosteatosis?

Abstract

Aim: The triglyceride / HDL cholesterol (TG/HDL-c) ratio is increased in a variety of diseases including, coronary heart disease and type 2 diabetes mellitus. However, its role in non-alcoholic hepatosteatosis is not well understood. In present study, we aimed to compare the TG/HDL-c levels of the patients with non-alcoholic hepatosteatosis to those of the healthy subjects.

Methods: Medical data of the patients with non-alcoholic hepatosteatosis whom presented to the outpatient internal medicine clinics of our institution were retrospectively analyzed. Healthy subjects whom admissions to our clinics were due to check up were enrolled to the study as control group. TG/HDL-c of the groups compared.

Results: TG/HDL-c level of the liver steatosis group (5 (2-22) %) was higher than the control group (2.7 (1-8) %), (p<0.001). TG/HDL-c was significantly and positively correlated with fasting blood glucose (r=0.31, p<0.001), C - reactive protein (r=0.25, p<0.001) and LDL-cholesterol (r=0.3, p<0.001) levels. A TG/HDL-c value greater than 3.1% has 91% sensitivity and 77% specificity in detecting hepatosteatosis.

Conclusions: We suggest that TG/HDL-c ratio could be a useful marker of non-alcoholic hepatosteatosis due to its inexpensive and easy to assess nature.