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Background: Transient elastography is an ultrasound-based method to detect non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Despite the simultaneously rising prevalence of fatty liver and metabolic disease, further information about metabolic risk indicators of fatty liver is still necessary., Methods: A Southern Italian population sample with obesity ( N = 87) was cross-sectionally explored for associations among the presence of NAFLD, assessed by FibroScan, and clinical, biochemical and anthropometric parameters. Inclusion criteria were age >18 years, BMI ≥ 25 kg/m 2 , no ongoing supplemental or drug therapy, including oral contraceptives or osteoporosis medications; exclusion criteria were pregnancy, endocrinological diseases, cardiovascular diseases, neoplasia, renal or hepatic failure, hereditary thrombocytopenia, hepatitis B (HBV) or hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, and excess alcohol consumption., Results: The study sample featured a female predominance (67%, N = 60), age range 18-64 years, and 40% prevalence of NAFLD, in accordance with the fibroscan-measured controlled attenuation parameter (CAP) threshold value above 302 dB/m. Males were slightly more frequently affected by NAFLD (51.4% vs. 48.6%, p = 0.01). Insulin levels, insulin resistance (quantified by HOMA-IR), diastolic blood pressure, BMI, visceral adipose tissue (VAT), and waist circumference were significantly higher in the NAFLD subset compared to their counterparts ( p < 0.01, p < 0.01, p = 0.05, p < 0.01, p < 0.01, p < 0.01, respectively). Uric acid ( p < 0.01) also showed a positive trend in the NAFLD group. Other liver steatosis parameters, measured by stiffness ( p < 0.01), fatty liver index (FLI) ( p < 0.01) and FibroScan-AST (FAST) ( p < 0.01), were also significantly greater in the NAFLD group. In three nested linear regression models built to assess associations between CAP values and serum uric acid levels, a single unit increase in uricemia indicated a CAP increase by 14 dB/m, after adjusting for confounders (coefficient: 14.07, 95% CI 0.6-27.54)., Conclusions: Clinical-metabolic screening for NAFLD cannot ignore uricemia, especially in patients with obesity., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 De Nucci, Castellana, Zupo, Lampignano, Di Chito, Rinaldi, Giannuzzi, Cozzolongo, Piazzolla, Giannelli, Sardone and De Pergola.)

Background: Diet and social determinants influence the state of human health. In older adults, the presence of social, physical and psychological barriers increases the probability of deprivation. This study investigated the relationship between social deprivation and eating habits in non-institutionalized older adults from Southern Italy, and identified foods and dietary habits associated with social deprivation., Methods: We recruited 1,002 subjects, mean age 74 years, from the large population based Salus in Apulia Study. In this cross-sectional study, eating habits and the level of deprivation were assessed with FFQ and DiPCare-Q, respectively., Results: Deprived subjects ( n = 441) included slightly more females, who were slightly older and with a lower level of education. They consumed less fish (23 vs. 26 g), fruiting vegetables (87 vs. 102 g), nuts (6 vs. 9 g) and less "ready to eat" dishes (29 vs. 33 g). A Random Forest (RF) model was used to identify a dietary pattern associated with social deprivation. This pattern included an increased consumption of low-fat dairy products and white meat, and a decreased consumption of wine, leafy vegetables, seafood/shellfish, processed meat, red meat, dairy products, and eggs., Conclusion: The present study showed that social factors also define diet and eating habits. Subjects with higher levels of deprivation consume cheaper and more readily available food., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Tatoli, Lampignano, Donghia, Castellana, Zupo, Bortone, De Nucci, Campanile, Lofù, Vimercati, Lozupone, De Pergola, Panza, Giannelli, Di Noia, Boeing and Sardone.)