Hepatic FDG uptake is associated with future cardiovascular events in asymptomatic individuals with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.
Hepatic F-18 fluoro-2-deoxyglucose (FDG) uptake is associated with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) which is an independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease. However, the value of hepatic FDG uptake for predicting future cardiovascular events has not been explored.



Study participants were 815 consecutive asymptomatic participants who underwent a health screening program that included FDG positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT), abdominal ultrasonography, and carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT) measurements (age 51.8 ± 6.0 year; males 93.9%). We measured hepatic FDG uptake and assessed the prognostic significance of this parameter with other cardiovascular risk factors including Framingham risk score and CIMT. Multivariate Cox proportional hazards analyses including all study participants revealed that NAFLD with high-hepatic FDG uptake was the only independent predictor for future cardiovascular events [hazard ratio (HR) 4.23; 95% CI 1.05-17.04; P = .043). Subgroup analysis conducted in the NAFLD group showed that high-hepatic FDG uptake was a significant independent predictor of cardiovascular events (HR 9.29; 95% CI 1.05-81.04; P = .045).



This exploratory study suggests that high-hepatic FDG uptake may be a useful prognostic factor for cardiovascular events in individuals with NAFLD.
Department of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, 50 Irwon-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, 135-710, Republic of Korea.
Seung Hwan
SH
Moon
Department of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, 50 Irwon-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, 135-710, Republic of Korea.
Sun-Pyo
SP
Hong
Department of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, 50 Irwon-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, 135-710, Republic of Korea.
Young Seok
YS
Cho
Department of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, 50 Irwon-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, 135-710, Republic of Korea.
Tae Soo
TS
Noh
Department of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, 50 Irwon-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, 135-710, Republic of Korea.
Joon Young
JY
Choi
Department of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, 50 Irwon-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, 135-710, Republic of Korea.
Byung-Tae
BT
Kim
Department of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, 50 Irwon-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, 135-710, Republic of Korea. khnm.lee@samsung.com.
Kyung-Han
KH
Lee
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D058070:Asymptomatic Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000378:metabolism; D015984:Causality; D015897:Comorbidity; D003324:Coronary Artery Disease / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000378:metabolism*; D005260:Female; D019788:Fluorodeoxyglucose F18 / Q000493:pharmacokinetics*; D006801:Humans; D008099:Liver / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000378:metabolism*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D065626:Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000378:metabolism*; D000072078:Positron Emission Tomography Computed Tomography / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D015995:Prevalence; D011379:Prognosis; D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals / Q000493:pharmacokinetics; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D056910:Republic of Korea; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012307:Risk Factors; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity
D015415:Biomarkers; D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D019788:Fluorodeoxyglucose F18
PET/CT imaging; coronary artery disease; fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG); non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD); prognosis