Risk factors and prediction model for nonalcoholic fatty liver disease in northwest China

In recent years, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) has become the most important chronic liver disease worldwide. The prevalence of NAFLD in China has also increased year by year. This study aimed to detect NAFLD early by developing a nomogram model in Chinese individuals. A total of 8861 subjects who underwent physical examination in Karamay and were 18 to 62 years old were enrolled. Clinical information, laboratory results and ultrasound findings were retrieved. The participants were randomly assigned to the development set (n = 6203) and the validation set (n = 2658). Significant variables independently associated with NAFLD were identified by least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) regression and the multiple logistic regression model. Six variables were selected to construct the nomogram: age, sex, waist circumference (WC), body mass index (BMI), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), triglycerides and glucose index (TyG). The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC) of the development set and validation set was 0.886 and 0.894, respectively. The calibration curves showed excellent accuracy of the nomogram model. This physical examination and laboratory test-based nomogram can predict the risk of NAFLD intuitively and individually.