Left ventricular diastolic dysfunction (LVDD) has been observed in people with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in cross-sectional studies but the causal relationship is unclear. This study aimed to investigate the impact of NAFLD and the fibrotic progression of the disease on the development of LVDD, assessed by serial echocardiography, in a large population over a 7-year longitudinal setting.

This retrospective cohort study included the data of 3,496 subjects from a medical health check-up program. We defined subjects having NAFLD by abdominal ultrasonography and assessed significant liver fibrosis by the aspartate transaminase (AST) to platelet ratio index (APRI), the NAFLD fibrosis score (NFS), and the fibrosis-4 (FIB-4) index. LVDD was defined using serial echocardiography. A parametric Cox proportional hazards model was used.

During 11,327 person-years of follow-up, there were 560 (16.0%) incident cases of LVDD. After adjustment for multiple risk factors, subjects with NAFLD showed an increased adjusted hazard ratio (aHR) of 1.21 (95% confidence interval [CI]=1.02-1.43) for incident LVDD compared to those without. The risk of LV diastolic dysfunction increased progressively with increasing degree of hepatic steatosis (P < 0.001). Compared to subjects without NAFLD, the multivariable-aHR (95% CI) for LVDD in subjects with APRI < 0.5 and APRI ≥ 0.5 were 1.20 (1.01-1.42) and 1.36 (0.90-2.06), respectively (P = 0.036), while other fibrosis prediction models (NFS and FIB-4 index) showed insignificant results.

This study demonstrated that NAFLD was associated with an increased risk of LVDD in a large cohort. More severe forms of hepatic steatosis and/or significant liver fibrosis may increase the risk of developing LVDD.