MAFLD identifies patients with significant hepatic fibrosis better than MASLD

Diagnostic criteria for metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) have been proposed but not yet validated. This study aimed to compare the diagnostic accuracy of the MASLD definition with the existing criteria for metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) in identifying patients with significant fibrosis.

The analysis included a total of 8317 individuals who had complete biochemical and liver ultrasonography data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2017–2020). In this study, significant fibrosis (≥ F2) was determined by a median liver stiffness of ≥ 8.0 kPa. To identify independent factors associated with significant fibrosis, multivariable logistic regression analyses were applied.

MAFLD (OR 3.44; 95% CI 2.88–4.12; P < 0.0001) has a trend for stronger and independent association with significant fibrosis compared to MASLD (OR 2.63; 95% CI 2.22–3.11; P < 0.0001). Non-MASLD MAFLD is independently associated with a 14.28-fold higher odds of significant fibrosis compared to non-MAFLD MASLD. The sensitivity for detecting significant fibrosis for MAFLD and MASLD was 76.23% vs 69.94%, respectively. The performance of MAFLD remains consistent in a sub-analysis of patients with no or mild alcohol intake.

The definition of MAFLD provides a more precise identification of individuals who have both fatty liver and significant fibrosis, assessed by non-invasive tests.