Non-alcoholic steatohepatitis and the risk of myocardial infarction: A population-based national study

Sara Ghoneim; Aneesh Dhorepatil; Aun Raza Shah; Ganesh Ram; Subhan Ahmad; Chang Kim; Imad Asaad

doi:10.4254/wjh.v12.i7.378

Non-alcoholic steatohepatitis and the risk of myocardial infarction: A population-based national study

World J Hepatol. 2020 Jul 27;12(7):378-388. doi: 10.4254/wjh.v12.i7.378.

Authors

Sara Ghoneim¹, Aneesh Dhorepatil², Aun Raza Shah², Ganesh Ram³, Subhan Ahmad², Chang Kim², Imad Asaad⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department of Internal Medicine, Case Western Reserve University at MetroHealth Medical Center, Cleveland, OH 44109, United States. saragho@gmail.com.
² Department of Internal Medicine, Case Western Reserve University at MetroHealth Medical Center, Cleveland, OH 44109, United States.
³ Department of Pain Management, The Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, London, Ontario N6A 5C1, Canada.
⁴ Division of Gastroenterology, Case Western Reserve University at MetroHealth Medical Center, Cleveland, OH 44109, United States.

Abstract

Background: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a systemic disease with bidirectional relationships with cardiovascular disease (CVD). Non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is a more severe subtype of NAFLD. Patients with NASH exhibit more intra and extrahepatic inflammation, procoagulant imbalances and proatherogenic lipid profiles. Whether NASH increases the risk of ischemic heart disease is currently unclear.

Aim: To investigate the relationship between acute myocardial infarction (MI) and NASH in a large cohort of subjects in the United States.

Methods: We reviewed data from a large commercial database (Explorys IBM) that aggregates electronic health records from 26 large nationwide healthcare systems. Using systemized nomenclature of clinical medical terms (SNOMED CT), we identified adult with the diagnosis of NASH from 1999-2019. We included patients with the diagnosis of acute MI from 2018-2019. Comorbidities known to be associated with NASH and MI such as obesity, diabetes mellitus, hyperlipidemia, smoking, male gender, and hypertension were collected. Univariable and multivariable analyses were performed to investigate whether NASH is independently associated with the risk of MI.

Results: Out of 55099280 patients, 43170 were diagnosed with NASH (0.08%) and 107000 (0.194%) had a MI within 2018-2019. After adjusting for traditional risk factors, NASH conferred greater odds of MI odds ratio (OR) 1.5 [95% confidence interval (CI): 1.40-1.62]. Hyperlipidemia had the strongest association with MI OR 8.39 (95%CI: 8.21-8.58) followed by hypertension OR 3.11 (95%CI: 3.05-3.17) and smoking OR 2.83 (95%CI: 2.79-2.87). NASH had a similar association with MI as the following traditional risk factors like age above 65 years OR 1.47 (95%CI: 1.45-1.49), male gender OR 1.53 (95%CI: 1.51-1.55) diabetes mellitus OR 1.89 (95%CI: 1.86-1.91).

Conclusion: MI appears to be a prevalent disease in NASH. Patients with NASH may need early identification and aggressive cardiovascular risk modification.

Keywords: Atherosclerosis; Ischemic cardiovascular disease; Myocardial infarction; Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease; Non-alcoholic steatohepatitis; United States population.