Evaluation of Triglyceride-Glucose Index as a Marker of Hepatic Steatosis and Fibrosis in Egyptian Patients with NAFLD

Abstract

Background: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) grows in frequency, being a significant health burden. A liver histopathology is uncommonly used due to its risks and invasive nature. In order to assess and diagnose NAFLD patients, a trustworthy indicator is needed. An easy and fast method to determine if someone is insulin resistant is to use the triglyceride-glucose (TyG) index.Aim of the Work: Our goal of this research was to examine the relationship between the onset of NAFLD and the TyG index.Methods: Our observational cross-sectional analysis at the hepatology outpatient clinic at Al Sahel Teaching Hospital, from January 2022 to July 2022, was conducted on 100 subjects, divided after history, laboratory results, and ultrasound, into 50 cases with NAFLD and 50 healthy controls.Results: In this study, there was an insignificant difference between both groups as regard age or sex, but the difference was significant between both groups as regard BMI, ALT, fasting blood sugar, TGs, TyG-index, and HOMA IR. Moreover, a noteworthy positive correlation was observed between NAFLD fibrosis score with HOMA-IR and TyG-index, as well as a substantial correlation was noticed between the TyG index and LSM in NAFLD.Conclusion: Our research emphasizes that, in cases of NAFLD, the TyG index might be considered a distinct risk element for both liver fibrosis and hepatic steatosis. The TyG index is low-cost to test and simple to calculate when compared to other IR markers.