The Relationship Between the Body Mass Index, Transaminases Levels and the Degree of Liver Fibrosis in Patients with Metabolically Associated Steatotic Liver Disease
Abstract
Introduction. Metabolically associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD; in current international nomenclature - metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease) is one of the most common chronic liver diseases and is closely linked to obesity, insulin resistance, metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes mellitus. The aim of the study. To determine the relationship between the body mass index, transaminases levels and degree of liver fibrosis in patients with metabolically associated fatty liver disease. Materials and methods. The study included 60 patients (29 women and 31 men) aged 34-53 years who underwent examination in 2025-2026 at the Department of Internal Medicine No. 1 (State Non-Profit Company "Danylo Halytsky Lviv National Medical University"). Body weight, height were recorded, and body mass index (BMI) was calculated for each patient. In addition, alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferasse (AST) levels were determined using standard biochemical methods. The degree of liver fibrosis was assessed using shear-wave elastography (SWE) on a Samsung HS70A-UA ultrasound system. Results. Correlation analysis revealed a strong positive association between the degree of fibrosis and ALT levels (r = 0.75; p < 0.001), as well as between the degree of fibrosis and AST levels (r = 0.74; p < 0.001). The relationship between BMI and the degree of fibrosis was weakly negative and statistically insignificant (r = −0.25; p > 0.05). Conclusions. Within this sample, transaminase activity showed a closer association with the severity of fibrosis than body mass index; however, transaminases should not be considered as an independent method for staging fibrosis.