Liver Stiffness Severity is Associated With Increased Cardiovascular Risk in Patients With Type 2 Diabetes.

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death among patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and is strongly associated with type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM2). Accurately assessing CVD risk in NAFLD patients is critical to improving clinical outcomes. Use of liver stiffness measurements to noninvasively assess for liver fibrosis is broadening, and magnetic resonance elastography (MRE) is the most accurate modality in NAFLD. However, the association between fibrosis severity on MRE and the degree of CVD risk is unknown. The aim of this study was to determine whether MRE-assessed liver fibrosis stage is associated with CVD risk determined by Framingham risk score (FRS) and coronary artery calcium (CAC).