Hepatic steatosis index: a simple screening tool reflecting nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.
OBJECTIVE
To optimize management of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), a simple screening tool is necessary. In this study, we aimed to devise a simple index of NAFLD.


METHODS
A cross-sectional study with 10,724 health check-up subjects (5362 cases with NAFLD versus age- and sex-matched controls) was conducted. Study subjects were randomly assigned to a derivation cohort or a validation cohort.


RESULTS
Multivariate analysis indicated that high serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) to serum aspartate aminotransferase (AST) ratio, high body mass index (BMI), and diabetes mellitus were independent risk factors of NAFLD (all P<0.001). Using these variables, a formula was derived by a logistic regression model: hepatic steatosis index (HSI)= 8 x(ALT/AST ratio)+BMI (+2, if female; +2, if diabetes mellitus). HSI had an area under receiver-operating curve of 0.812 (95% confidence interval, 0.801-0.824). At values of <30.0 or >36.0, HSI ruled out NAFLD with a sensitivity of 93.1%, or detected NAFLD with a specificity of 92.4%, respectively. Of 2692 subjects with HSI <30.0 or >36.0 in the derivation cohort, 2305 (85.6%) were correctly classified. HSI was validated in the subsequent validation cohort.


CONCLUSIONS
HSI is a simple, efficient screening tool for NAFLD that may be utilized for selecting individuals for liver ultrasonography and for determining the need for lifestyle modifications.
Lee
Jeong-Hoon
JH
Department of Internal Medicine and Liver Research Institute, Seoul National University College of Medicine, 28 Yongon-dong, Chongno-gu, Seoul 110-744, Republic of Korea.
Kim
Donghee
D
Kim
Hwa Jung
HJ
Lee
Chang-Hoon
CH
Yang
Jong In
JI
Kim
Won
W
Kim
Yoon Jun
YJ
Yoon
Jung-Hwan
JH
Cho
Sang-Heon
SH
Sung
Myung-Whun
MW
Lee
Hyo-Suk
HS
D000328:Adult; D015992:Body Mass Index; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003920:Diabetes Mellitus; D005234:Fatty Liver / Q000175:diagnosis*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016013:Likelihood Functions; D008111:Liver Function Tests; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010808:Physical Examination; D012372:ROC Curve; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D012737:Sex Factors