Relationship between pulse pressure and Fibrosis-4 score in non-drinking Korean adults using the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey

Background: The present study was conducted to assess the association between fibrosis-4 score (FIB-4) and pulse pressure (PP) in Korean adults. Materials and Methods: Data on 4,236 adults aged 20 or older were obtained from the 2020 Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Results: There were several key findings in the present study. First, compared with the quartile 1 (Q1) of FIB-4, the odds ratio (OR) of high PP (PP > 60 mmHg) was significantly higher in Q2 (OR, 3.469; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.737–6.928), Q3 (OR, 7.256; 95% CI, 3.744–14.061), and Q4 (OR, 16.660; 95% CI, 8.671–32.007). Second, for predicting high PP, the receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis for FIB-4 (area under the ROC curve [AUC], 0.787; 95% CI, 0.769–0.804; p < 0.001). In addition, FIB-4 was superior to other non-invasive hepatic fibrosis indices, such as the aspartate aminotransferase (AST)/alanine aminotransferase (ALT) ratio (z = 11.857; p < 0.001) or AST/platelet ratio index (z = 10.024; p < 0.001) for predicting high PP Conclusions: FIB-4 was positively associated with PP and SBP in Korean adults but was inversely associated with DBP. In addition, FIB-4 was superior to other non-invasive hepatic fibrosis indices for predicting high PP.