Association Between Lipoprotein Particles and Atherosclerotic Events in Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease.

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), the most common cause of chronic liver disease,1 is independently associated with increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD), which is the leading cause of mortality in patients with NAFLD.2 This is likely caused by the centrality of the liver in lipid homeostasis. Prior cross-sectional studies have shown that NAFLD is associated with perturbations in lipid profile and atherogenic lipoprotein subparticles.3 Although statins improve lipid profile and CVD-associated mortality, residual CVD risk has been demonstrated in major statin trials.4,5 A key contributor to this residual risk is the limited ability of the standard lipid profile to precisely quantify atherogenic lipoprotein subparticles, such as small dense low-density lipoprotein (sdLDL), which might confer higher atherogenic risk. There are currently no studies evaluating the longitudinal impact of sdLDL on atherosclerotic events in NAFLD. Thus, we conducted a prospective study in patients with histologically confirmed NAFLD to better define the relationship among NAFLD, residual CVD risk, and sdLDL.