Associations between sex hormones and metabolic-associated fatty liver disease in a middle-aged and elderly community

Metabolic-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) was proposed by an international expert consensus to replace non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in 2020. Previous studies have shown that sex hormones are strongly linked to NAFLD development. This study aims to explore whether sex hormones are associated with MAFLD and liver fat content (LFC) in a middle-aged and elderly community. The study included 732 subjects aged 50–80 years enrolled from communities. MAFLD was diagnosed using the 2020 International Expert Consensus. LFC was calculated using parameters from abdominal ultrasound images. Serum estradiol (E2), total testosterone (TT), sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG), FSH, and LH were measured by chemiluminescent microparticle immunoassay. MAFLD was diagnosed in 107/304 (35.2%) men and 154/428 (35.2%) women. After adjustments for confounding factors, logistic regression analysis showed that SHBG was negatively correlated with MAFLD in men (OR, 0.95 [0.93–0.97], p < 0.001). In women, SHBG and FSH were negatively correlated with MAFLD (OR, 0.95 [0.94–0.97], p < 0.001; OR, 0.97 [0.96–0.98], p < 0.001). Multivariate linear regression analysis showed that SHBG was a negative factor for LFC in both men (standardized β = –0.188, p < 0.001) and women (standardized β = –0.184, p < 0.001). FSH was a negative factor for LFC in women (standardized β = –0.082, p = 0.046). SHBG was negatively correlated with MAFLD in middle-aged and elderly men and women. Moreover, FSH was negatively correlated, and bioactive testosterone was positively correlated with MAFLD in women. These findings suggest a relationship between sex hormones and MAFLD.