The Fatty Liver Index: a simple and accurate predictor of hepatic steatosis in the general population

Fatty liver (FL) is the most frequent liver disease in Western countries. We used data from the Dionysos Nutrition & Liver Study to develop a simple algorithm for the prediction of FL in the general population.

216 subjects with and 280 without suspected liver disease were studied. FL was diagnosed by ultrasonography and alcohol intake was assessed using a 7-day diary. Bootstrapped stepwise logistic regression was used to identify potential predictors of FL among 13 variables of interest [gender, age, ethanol intake, alanine transaminase, aspartate transaminase, gamma-glutamyl-transferase (GGT), body mass index (BMI), waist circumference, sum of 4 skinfolds, glucose, insulin, triglycerides, and cholesterol]. Potential predictors were entered into stepwise logistic regression models with the aim of obtaining the most simple and accurate algorithm for the prediction of FL.