Estimated glucose disposal rate as a practical tool for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease identification: A NHANES-based cross-sectional study uncovering its protective threshold

To explore the early detection value of estimated glucose disposal rate (eGDR) for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), providing a simple tool for precise clinical intervention.

A cross-sectional analysis was conducted on totally 3262 participants with complete data from the National Health and Nutrition Survey Database of the United States from 2007 to 2018. Univariate regression and multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to explore the correlation between the estimated glucose treatment rate and the incidence of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. Subgroup analysis, restricted cubic spline and threshold effect analysis were conducted to investigate the potential factor influences and nonlinear relationships.

Among all the included populations, 948 cases (25.29%) were diagnosed with NAFLD, and the number gradually decreased with the increase of the estimated glucose treatment rate (P<0.001). Multivariate logistic regression showed that the estimated grape processing rate was negatively correlated with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (OR=0.86, 95%CI: 0.83~0.88, P<0.001), and when the estimated glucose processing rate was ≥10.246, it could significantly reduce the risk of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (OR=0. 20, 95%CI:0.10~0.39, P<0.001), and stratified analysis further confirmed this result.

The eGDR is significantly associated with the incidence risk of NAFLD. A higher eGDR indicates a lower risk of NAFLD. This implies that in clinical practice, the risk of disease detection can be quantified through this indicator, thereby identifying potential patients earlier and initiating intervention.

As decision-makers, they should strengthen public health education on non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, reduce health risks by promoting healthy diets and lifestyle interventions, and pay attention to the cardiovascular health of high-risk groups for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. At the same time, promote the research and application of drugs, and dynamically adjust policies through continuous disease monitoring to comprehensively reduce the burden of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.