Ethnic differences in metabolic and histologic features among White, Hispanic, Black and Asian patients with metabolic-associated Steatotic liver disease: A network meta-analysis

Abstract

Introduction and Objectives

Current evidence on the impact of ethnic disparities on metabolic-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) is limited to individual studies with small sample sizes from specific regions. This network meta-analysis aimed to assess variations in metabolism and histological characteristics of MASLD among four ethnicities.

Materials and Methods

Observational studies on MASLD involving at least two ethnic groups (White, Black, Asian, and Hispanic) were identified from PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science databases up to May 7th, 2024, for inclusion in this study. The results were reported as unstandardized mean differences (MDs) and odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs).

Results

A total of twenty-seven articles involving 14,440 non-Hispanic Whites, 4,927 non-Hispanic Blacks, 5,254 Asians, and 8,344 Hispanic MASLD patients were included in this study. The prevalence of type 2 diabetes mellitus of all ethnic groups combined was 33%, without significant difference among the four ethnicities. Asians showed higher levels of total cholesterol compared to the other groups, while Blacks had the lowest levels of alanine aminotransferase. Among biopsy-proven MASLD patients, Blacks individuals had a lower risk of significant fibrosis compared to Whites (OR=0.63, 95% CI: 0.45 to 0.87), as well as lower risks of liver inflammation (OR=0.53, 95% CI: 0.29 to 0.95) and nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) (OR=0.53, 95% CI: 0.29 to 0.95) compared to Hispanics.

Conclusions

Asians MASLD patients had higher risk of suffering from abnormal lipid metabolism while Black MASLD patients presented milder liver histologic features than both Whites and Hispanics individuals.