Influence of Adherence to the Mediterranean Diet and Level of Physical Activity with Liver Steatosis in People Aged > 50 Years and with a BMI > 25 kg/m2: Association with Biochemical Markers

Abstract

Background: The main objective of this study is to determine the accuracy of different biochemical markers of hepatic steatosis and to correlate liver steatosis with adherence to the Mediterranean diet and level of physical activity. Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out, including subjects over 50 years of age, with a BMI > 25 kg/m2, but excluding any patient with documented hepatic pathology other than hepatic steatosis. Participants were divided into two groups: patients with hepatic steatosis diagnosed by ultrasound (SG) and a control group of individuals without hepatic steatosis (CG). The level of physical activity was recorded by the IPAQ-SF questionnaire and the adherence to the Mediterranean diet was recorded using the PREDIMED questionnaire. Biochemical markers analyzed included the Hepatic steatosis index (HSI), AST-to-Platelet ratio (APRI) and Fibrosis-4 (FIB-4). Results: A total of 116 patients were included, 71 belonging to the SG and 45 to the CG. A total of 58.6% of the patients showed low adherence to the Mediterranean diet, 35.4% moderate adherence and 6% high adherence. The median estimated physical activity was 495 METS, with most participants reporting light activity. In the SG, significantly higher HSI values were observed (p < 0.001). A cut-off point of a HSI of 40 was established, with a sensitivity of 73.2% and a specificity of 65.8%. Significantly higher FIB-4 values (p = 0.039) were also observed in the SG. A cut-off point of FIB-4 was set at 0.27, with a sensitivity of 69% and a specificity of 57.9%. Patients in the SG showed lower scores in the PREDIMED. Patients in the SG tended to show lower METS scores. However, the higher number of patients with intense activity in the CG group stands out (p = 0.008). Conclusions: The HSI and FIB-4 showed a significant correlation with liver steatosis. Hepatic steatosis is associated with low adherence to the Mediterranean diet and patients with hepatic steatosis tended to have lower METS scores.