Association of sex hormone-binding globulin with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease in Chinese adults

madman

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Abstract

Background: Sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG), a glycoprotein synthesized by hepatocytes, has been linked to insulin resistance and hepatic lipid metabolism and is suggested to be associated with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). This study aimed to investigate the association of SHBG with NAFLD in Chinese adults.

Methods: We conducted a community-based, cross-sectional study in China involving 2912 participants aged 40– 75 years old. All participants underwent detection for hepatic fat infiltration by ultrasound in addition to providing complete medical history and undergoing physical and blood biochemical examinations. The association of serum SHBG with the presence of NAFLD was reported by adjusted odds ratio after applying logistic regression models. To further explore the relationship between SHBG and NAFLD, mRNA expression of SHBG and hepatocyte nuclear factor 4-α (HNF4α), as well as intrahepatic triglycerides, were determined from the liver tissues of 32 subjects with different degrees of steatosis.

Results: Serum SHBG levels in patients with NAFLD (median, 43.8 nmol/L; interquartile range, 33.4–56.8 nmol/L) were significantly lower than those in non-NAFLD subjects (median, 63.4 nmol/L; interquartile range, 47.6–83. 1 nmol/L). Serum SHBG levels were inversely correlated with WHR, trunk fat percentage, glucose, HOMA-IR, TG, UA and DHEAS, and were positively correlated with HDL-C levels (all p < 0.001). Logistic regression analysis indicated that serum SHBG levels were negatively associated with the presence of NAFLD in all subjects, as well as the subgroups stratified by sex, BMI and HOMA-IR (all p < 0.05). In human liver tissues, SHBG and HNF4α mRNA expression decreased along with the elevated grade of hepatic steatosis. Both SHBG and HNF4α mRNA expression levels were negatively correlated with intrahepatic triglycerides.

Conclusions: These results demonstrate that SHBG levels were negatively associated with the presence of NAFLD in middle-aged and elderly Chinese adults.





Conclusions

In summary, we found an inverse association between serum SHBG levels and the presence of NAFLD after multivariable adjustment for metabolic risk factors in community-dwelling participants. Research on liver specimens showed that not only did serum concentrations of SHBG decrease as the degree of hepatic steatosis exacerbated in NAFLD patients but also the liver mRNA expression of SHBG was negatively correlated with the severity of liver injury and intrahepatic TG. Whether SHBG can be selected as a noninvasive biomarker for NAFLD will be determined in future prospective studies and clinical trials.
 

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Interesting for sure, but it is important to keep in mind that correlation is NOT the same as causation when reading studies like this.
 

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Scientific Reference

Lakshman KM, Kaplan B, Travison TG, Basaria S, Knapp PE, Singh AB, LaValley MP, Mazer NA, Bhasin S. The effects of injected testosterone dose and age on the conversion of testosterone to estradiol and dihydrotestosterone in young and older men. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2010 Aug;95(8):3955-64.

DOI: 10.1210/jc.2010-0102 | PMID: 20534765 | PMCID: PMC2913038

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