Inverse Association of Serum Adipsin with the Remission of Nonalcoholic Fatty-Liver Disease: A 3-Year Community-Based Cohort Study

Abstract

Purposes: Adipokine alterations contribute to the development and remission of nonalcoholic fatty-liver disease (NAFLD). Adipsin is one of the most abundant adipokines and is almost exclusively produced by adipocytes. However, data on adipsin in human NAFLD are limited and controversial. We performed this study to investigate the association between adipsin and the remission of NAFLD in middle-aged and elderly Chinese adults. Methods: Whether adipsin is associated with the remission of NAFLD in a 3-year community-based prospective cohort study was investigated. Baseline levels of adipsin were measured in serum samples collected from 908 NAFLD participants. NAFLD was diagnosed using abdominal ultrasonography. Logistic regression analysis and a multiple stepwise logistic regression model including different variables were conducted to evaluate the association between serum adipsin levels and the remission of NAFLD. Results: During a mean follow-up of 3.14 ± 0.36 years, 247 (27.20%) participants with NAFLD at baseline were in remission. At baseline, serum adipsin concentration was positively correlated with body mass index (r: 0.39, p < 0.001), insulin (r: 0.31, p < 0.001), and homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (r: 0.31, p < 0.001) and was inversely associated with NAFLD remission with a fully adjusted odds ratio (OR) of 0.28 (0.16–0.48) (p trend < 0.001). In a multiple stepwise logistic regression model, circulating adipsin independently predicted NAFLD remission (OR: 0.284, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.172–0.471, p for trend <0.001). The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve was 0.751 (95% CI: 0.717–0.785) (p < 0.001) for the prediction model of NAFLD remission. Conclusions: We provide evidence for an association between serum adipsin levels and the remission of NAFLD in a community-based prospective cohort study. Serum adipsin can be a potential biomarker for predicting NAFLD remission.