3rd Edition of Diabetes and Endocrinology World Conference 2027

Abstract

Background: Metabolic-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) is a leading cause of chronic liver disease that can progress to steatohepatitis, cirrhosis and liver cancer. The prevalence of MAFLD is increasing alongside rising type 2 diabetes mellitus and obesity. Liver fibrosis determined using VCTE is an important indicator in determining the prognosis of this disease. Systemic inflammatory biomarkers, such as the neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and systemic inflammatory response index (SIRI), are considered important in predicting the progression of liver fibrosis.

Methods: This observational cross-sectional study involved 300 patients diagnosed with MAFLD who were treated at Wahidin Sudirohusodo Hospital Makassar from 2023 to 2025. Liver fibrosis stages were assessed using vibration controlled transient elastography (VCTE) and inflammatory biomarkers were measured using a complete blood count (NLR and SIRI). Data were analyzed using the Mann-Whitney test

Results: The analysis revealed that NLR and SIRI were significantly associated with liver fibrosis stages. For the NLR index, the Significant Fibrosis group had a higher mean rank (167.56) than the Non-Fibrosis group (138.48), with a statistically significant difference (p = 0.004). A similar pattern was observed for SIRI, where the mean rank in Significant Fibrosis (169.55) was higher than in Non-Fibrosis (137.08) and showed strong significance (p = 0.001).

Conclusion: Systemic inflammatory biomarkers, particularly NLR and SIRI, can be used as practical and cost-effective predictors for monitoring liver fibrosis progression in MAFLD patients. However, the combination of other biomarkers may be required to enhance the accuracy of fibrosis prediction.