Fatty liver index is a strong predictor of changes in glycemic status in people with prediabetes: The IT-DIAB study.

Background & aimsIn patients at metabolic risk, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease is a strong and highly prevalent predictor for type 2 diabetes. Its assessment in clinical practice is not easy but the fatty liver index (FLI) could be used as a surrogate. Here, we studied the association between the FLI and the conversion to new-onset diabetes (NOD) or prediabetes reversion in patients with prediabetes.MethodsThe IT-DIAB observational study included 389 individuals with prediabetes, defined as fasting plasma glucose (FPG) between 110 and 125 mg/dL. NOD conversion was defined as a first FPG value ≥ 126 mg/dL and prediabetes reversion as a first FPG value < 110 mg/dL. The associations of both events with baseline FLI were studied separately using multivariate Cox models.ResultsAfter a median follow-up of 3.9 years (range 0.1-6.1), 138 individuals (35.5%) converted to NOD. FLI was associated with a higher risk of NOD conversion (unadjusted HR per SD = 1.54, 95%CI 1.27-1.86, pConclusionsFLI is a simple, practical score to further stratify the risk of conversion to NOD or the possibility of prediabetes reversion in clinical practice, independently of classical glucose parameters.Trial registrationClincialTrials.gov number NCT01218061 and NCT01432509.