Impact of cortisol on liver fat and metabolic health in adrenal incidentalomas and Cushing's syndrome

To evaluate liver fat content in patients with non-functional adrenal incidentalomas (NFAI), mild autonomous cortisol secretion (MACS), and Cushing's syndrome (CS), and assess its relationship with cortisol levels. This cross-sectional study used retrospective data from 103 NFAI patients, 100 MACS (serum cortisol after a 1-mg dexamethasone test >50 nmol/L), and 59 with CS. Abdominal CT scans measured hepatic and splenic CT values to calculate the liver-to-spleen (L/S) ratio. Metabolic indicators including fasting plasma glucose (FPG), LDL-c, HDL-c, HbA1c, etc were measured. Mediation analysis was used to explore the indirect effects of metabolic traits on the cortisol-liver fat relationship. Patients included 103 NFAI, 100 MACS, and 59 CS. MACS patients had higher NAFLD prevalence (57%) than NFAI (26.2%, p