gtag('event', 'click', { 'event_category': 'PDF Download' });
was successfully added to your cart.

Basket

Health Professionals BlogNAFLD / MAFLD

Validation of a screening panel for pediatric metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease using metabolomics

Title: Validation of a screening panel for pediatric metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease using metabolomics

Source: Hepatology Communications 2024, 8 (3): e0375

Follow this link

Date of publication: February 2024

Publication type: Article

Abstract: Background: Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD), formerly known as NAFLD, is the most common liver disease in children. Liver biopsy remains the gold standard for diagnosis, although more efficient screening methods are needed. We previously developed a novel NAFLD screening panel in youth using machine learning applied to high-resolution metabolomics and clinical phenotype data. Our objective was to validate this panel in a separate cohort, which consisted of a combined cross-sectional sample of 161 children with stored frozen samples (75% male, 12.8±2.6 years of age, body mass index 31.0±7.0 kg/m2, 81% with MASLD, 58% Hispanic race/ethnicity).

Methods: Clinical data were collected from all children, and high-resolution metabolomics was performed using their fasting serum samples. MASLD was assessed by MRI-proton density fat fraction or liver biopsy and cardiometabolic factors. Our previously developed panel included waist circumference, triglycerides, whole-body insulin sensitivity index, 3 amino acids, 2 phospholipids, dihydrothymine, and 2 unknowns. To improve feasibility, a simplified version without the unknowns was utilized in the present study. Since the panel was modified, the data were split into training (67%) and test (33%) sets to assess the validity of the panel.

Results: Our present highest-performing modified model, with 4 clinical variables and 8 metabolomics features, achieved an AUROC of 0.92, 95% sensitivity, and 80% specificity for detecting MASLD in the test set.

Conclusions: Therefore, this panel has promising potential for use as a screening tool for MASLD in youth.

Leave a Reply

© 2019 Children's Liver Disease Foundation. All Rights Reserved.