Sex differences in the association between fatty liver index and biological aging: A mediation analysis of insulin resistance in a cross-sectional study.

ABSTRACT: Aging challenges global healthcare systems, with fatty livers potentially relevant to the process. This study sought to investigate the sex-specific associations of fatty liver index (FLI) with biological aging (BA), assessed via phenotypic age (PhenoAge) and PhenoAge acceleration (PhenoAgeAccel), and explored the mediating role of the metabolic score for insulin resistance (METS-IR). Utilizing nationally representative data from 16,479 American adults in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES 1999-2020), this cross-sectional study employed weighted multivariable regression, receiver operating characteristic curves, restricted cubic splines, threshold effect analyses, sensitivity analyses, and mediation analyses. FLI was positively correlated with BA overall (P < .001

SUBMITTER: Yang J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12689076 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature