Coronary CT Angiography in Asymptomatic Adults with Hepatic Steatosis

Background: The long-term prognostic value of coronary CT angiography (CCTA) in asymptomatic adults with hepatic steatosis (HS) remains unknown. Purpose: To evaluate the long-term prognostic value of CCTA in asymptomatic adults with HS. Materials and Methods: Between January 2009 and December 2013, consecutive asymptomatic adults who underwent CCTA evaluation and unenhanced abdominal CT were prospectively enrolled. All participants were divided into two groups-with HS and without HS according to abdominal CT results. The primary end point was major adverse cardiovascular events (MACEs), defined as cardiac death, stroke, myocardial infarction, and angina requiring hospitalization. Multivariable Cox regression analysis and Kaplan-Meier analysis were used to compare survival rates. Results: One thousand thirteen participants with HS and 1940 participants without HS who completed the follow-up were included (mean age, 66 years +/- 10 [standard deviation] [range, 29-90 years]; 1940 men). During a median of 7.2 years of follow-up (interquartile range, 6.3-8.1), MACEs were observed in 96 of 1013 participants with HS (10%), whereas 80 of 1940 participants without HS (4%) had MACEs. In participants with a Coronary Artery Disease Reporting and Data System (CAD-RADS) category of 0, both participants with and without HS had a similar 8.8-year event-free survival rate (99.2% event-free survival rate in participants with HS vs 99.0% event-free survival rate in participants without HS, P =.77). As for participants with CAD-RADS categories 1 or 2 or 3-5, the 8.8-year event-free survival rate was lower in participants with HS than in those without HS (70.6% vs 85.2%, P,.001; 51.4% vs 71.7%, P =.03, respectively). The risk of MACEs was higher for participants with HS than for those without HS in CAD-RADS categories 1 and 2 (adjusted hazard ratio = 2.3; 95% CI: 1.4, 3.9; P,.001) and CAD-RADS categories 3-5 (adjusted HR = 2.1; 95% CI: 1.2, 3.6; P =.006) but not in the setting of CAD-RADS category 0 (adjusted HR = 5.1; 95% CI: 0.1, 398; P =.47). Conclusion: Asymptomatic participants with hepatic steatosis (HS) had a worse prognosis than those without HS in the presence of coronary artery disease (CAD) at coronary CT angiography, whereas participants with HS and without CAD might have excellent clinical outcomes during a median follow-up of 7.2 years. (C) RSNA, 2021

Automated summary

Asymptomatic individuals with hepatic steatosis (HS) have a worse prognosis than those without HS in the presence of coronary artery disease (CAD) at coronary CT angiography, while participants with HS and without CAD may have excellent clinical outcomes during a median follow-up of 7.2 years.