Systemic and healthcare burden of elevated Fibrosis-4 in the general population: a nationwide matched-cohort analysis

FIB‑4 equal to or above 2.67 robustly identifies individuals with disproportionate systemic morbidity, elevated mortality risk, and substantial health care resource utilization. Beyond staging hepatic fibrosis, FIB‑4 may function as a low‑cost marker of multimorbidity and health care complexity. Its incorporation into multidisciplinary risk stratification frameworks may enable earlier detection of high‑risk patients, inform preventive strategies, and support proactive population health management.