Association of resting heart rate with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease in postmenopausal women

• Published in: Medicine (Baltimore) Vol. 99; no. 14; p. e19529
• Main Authors: Kim, Hong-Bae, Lee, Yong-Jae
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States the Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc 01.04.2020; Wolters Kluwer Health
• Subjects: Age Factors; Aged; Blood Glucose; Blood Pressure; Body Mass Index; Cigarette Smoking - epidemiology; Cross-Sectional Studies; Female; Heart Rate - physiology; Humans; Lipids - blood; Liver Function Tests; Middle Aged; Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease - epidemiology; Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease - physiopathology; Observational Study; Postmenopause - physiology
• ISSN: 0025-7974; 1536-5964; 1536-5964
• DOI: 10.1097/MD.0000000000019529

Resting heart rate, a simple and useful indicator of autonomic function, and its imbalance has emerged as an independent predictor of cardio metabolic diseases. Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is increasingly being diagnosed worldwide and is strongly associated with the features of cardiometabolic diseases. This study aimed to examine the association between resting heart rate and NAFLD in postmenopausal women.The cross-sectional study included 1017 postmenopausal women aged ≥46 years, who attended a health examination program. Resting heart rate and NAFLD were measured in all subjects who underwent a medical examination. Resting heart rate quartiles were categorized as follows: Q1: 56 to 65, Q2: 66 to 71, Q3: 72 to 78, and Q4: 79 to 99 beats/min. The odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals for NAFLD were calculated after adjusting for confounding variables across resting heart rate quartiles using multiple logistic regression analysis.The prevalence of NAFLD increased with increasing resting heart rate quartiles: 28.2% for Q1, 31.5% for Q2, 33.4% for Q3, and 38.1% for Q4 (P < .001). Compared to the 1st quartile, the odds ratio (95% confidence intervals) of NAFLD in the 4th quartile of resting heart rates was 2.11 (1.17-3.42) after adjusting for age, body mass index, cigarette smoking, regular exercise, blood pressure, total cholesterol, triglyceride, aspartate aminotransferase, and alanine aminotransferase levels.Resting heart rate was positively associated with NAFLD in postmenopausal women, suggesting that it could be a useful additional measure to assess the risk for NAFLD in postmenopausal women.