Liver Fat Scores for Noninvasive Diagnosis and Monitoring of Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease in Epidemiological and Clinical Studies

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is strongly associated with the metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes independently contributes to long-term complications. Being often asymptomatic but reversible, it would require population-wide screening, direct diagnostics are either too invasive (liver biopsy), costly (MRI) or depending on examiner’s expertise (ultrasonography). Hepatosteatosis usually accommodated by features of (e.g. obesity, disturbances in triglyceride glucose metabolism), signs hepatocellular damage, all which reflected biomarkers, poorly predict NAFLD as single item, provide a cheap diagnostic alternative when integrated into composite fat indices. Fatty index, LFS, hepatic steatosis index common accurate indices for prediction, show limited accuracy quantification. Other rarely used. Hepatic fibrosis scores commonly used clinical practice, their mandatory reflection fibrotic reorganization, injury systemic sequelae reduces sensitivity diagnosis simple steatosis. Diet-induced changes indices, intervention its specific impact weight loss NAFLD. This validity longitudinal settings stimulates research new equations. Adipokines, hepatokines, markers cellular integrity, genetic variants also inexpensive routine parameters might be potential components. Currently, lack precision prediction monitoring individual patients, large cohorts they may substitute nonexistent imaging data serve compound biomarker cardiometabolic sequelae.