Prevalence of steatotic liver disease, MASLD, MetALD and significant fibrosis in people with HIV in the United States

Abstract

SummaryBackgroundMetabolic dysfunction‐associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) has recently been proposed as a replacement term for NAFLD.AimsTo assess the effects of this new nomenclature on the prevalence and distribution of different SLD categories in people with HIV (PWH) and identified factors associated with MASLD and clinically significant fibrosis (CSF).MethodsPWH were prospectively enrolled from 9 US centres and underwent clinical evaluation and vibration‐controlled transient elastography for controlled attenuation parameter (CAP) and liver stiffness measurement (LSM). SLD was defined as CAP ≥ 263 dB/m, CSF as LSM of ≥8 kPa, and advanced fibrosis (AF) as LSM ≥ 12 kPa. The prevalence of SLD, MASLD, metabolic dysfunction and alcohol‐associated liver disease (MetALD), ALD, cryptogenic (cSLD), CSF and AF were determined. Uni‐ and multivariate logistic regression models were used to assess factors associated with MASLD and CSF risk.ResultsOf 1065 participants, 74% were male, mean (SD) age 51.6 ± 11.9 years, 46% non‐Hispanic Black and 74% with undetectable HIV RNA. The prevalence of SLD was 52%, MASLD 39%, MetALD 10%, ALD 3%, CSF 15% and AF 4%. Only 0.6% had cSLD. Black race was protective whereas obesity, ALT and AST levels were associated with increased risk of MASLD and CSF in MASLD. HIV or antiretroviral therapy did not affect MASLD risk.ConclusionsMASLD and MetALD are the dominant causes of SLD in PWH, affecting almost half. Application of the new nomenclature resulted in minimal change in the proportion of patients with MASLD who would have been diagnosed previously with NAFLD.

Current epidemiology of chronic liver disease

“…Multiple other studies have addressed the heterogeneous and variable prevalence of this condition across geographic regions, race/ethnicity, and obesity status [ 12–15 ]. For example, in patients living with HIV, the prevalence of MASLD is 39%, according to a multicenter study conducted across several sites in the United States [ 16 ]. MASLD is also seen more commonly in South American populations than in other regions, with one study from Brazil reporting an MASLD prevalence of 35.2% [ 17 ].…”