ACCELERATED VASCULAR AGEING IN PATIENTS WITH METABOLIC DYSFUNCTION-ASSOCIATED STEATOTIC LIVER DISEASE

Objective: Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of mortality and morbidity of patients with metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD). Vascular ageing considers the cumulative effect of all risk factors on the arterial wall and may be useful for the valuation, prediction and treatment of cardiovascular diseases in patients with MASLD. Design and method: We enrolled 103 consecutive patients with a diagnosis of MASLD. Patients underwent evaluation of the following vascular ageing markers: carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (cfPWV, by PulsePen tonometer, DiaTecne, Milan, Italy), carotid intima–media thickness (IMT) and local carotid pulse wave velocity (carPWV, CardioVascular Suite 4, Quipu, Pisa, Italy). Vascular age evaluated with these methods was compared with chronological age. Results: Mean age of the cohort was 62.5±14.3 years, 57.3% males, 52.4% hypertensives and 35.9% diabetics. Vascular age evaluated by cfPWV was 66.8 years, significantly higher than chronological age (p<0.001). Mean cfPWV, IMT and carPWV were respectively 11.3±5.5 m/s, 0.87±0.28 mm and 7.49±1.63 m/s. All were significantly higher than the fiftieth percentile compared to relative chronological age (p<0.001), independently from sex. Conclusions: Patients with MASLD show an accelerated vascular ageing. Further studies are needed to clarify whether this is due to concomitant cardiovascular risk factors or to MASLD itself.