A Prospective Study on the Prevalence of MASLD in Patients With Type 2 Diabetes and Hyperferritinaemia

Background

Elevated levels of serum ferritin, a marker of hepatic iron overload and inflammation, may be associated with metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) and hepatic fibrosis.

Aim

To determine the prevalence of MASLD and significant hepatic fibrosis among patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and hyperferritinaemia.

Methods

This is a cross-sectional analysis of a prospective cohort of 523 adults (64% female) aged 50–80 with T2DM and without a diagnosis of haemochromatosis. MASLD and significant fibrosis were defined as magnetic resonance imaging-proton density fat fraction (MRI-PDFF) ≥ 5% and magnetic resonance elastography (MRE) ≥ 3.0 kPa, respectively. Hyperferritinaemia was defined as serum ferritin ≥ 200 ng/mL in females or ≥ 300 ng/mL in males. The primary objective was to determine the prevalence of MASLD and significant fibrosis in hyperferritinaemia.

Results

The mean age and body mass index were 64.1 (±8.1) years and 31.5 (±5.9) kg/m², respectively. The overall prevalence of hyperferritinaemia was 20.5% (n = 107). The prevalence of MASLD (78.5% vs. 62.1%, p = 0.001) and significant fibrosis (35.5% vs. 22.1%, p = 0.002) were higher in participants with hyperferritinaemia than those without. Hyperferritinaemia remained an independent predictor of MASLD (OR 2.01; 95% CI 1.19–3.39; p = 0.009) and significant fibrosis (OR 2.33; CI 1.43–3.77; p = 0.001), even after adjustment for age, sex, obesity and insulin use.

Conclusion

Approximately 80% of people with hyperferritinaemia and T2DM have MASLD, and more than a third have significant hepatic fibrosis. Hyperferritinaemia may be a useful biomarker for MASLD and significant fibrosis in people with T2DM.