Prevalence and predictors of metabolic-associated fatty liver disease in liver transplant recipients: A cross-sectional prospective study

Background and Aim: Metabolic-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) has emerged as a significant global health concern. However, the prevalence and predictors of MAFLD in post-liver transplantation (LT) patients remain uncertain. This study aimed to determine the prevalence and predictors of MAFLD in LT recipients and to assess the effectiveness of controlled at-tenuation parameter (CAP) values in diagnosing post-transplant MAFLD.Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional prospective study was con-ducted involving 128 adult patients who had undergone LT, and had received liver imaging, and vibration-controlled transient elastography (VCTE). MAFLD was diagnosed on the basis of the presence of liver steatosis de-tected through imaging and specific metabolic risk abnormalities.Results: The prevalence of MAFLD after LT was 34.4%, with 22.1% cat-egorized as de novo MAFLD, and 12.3% as recurrent MAFLD. Posttrans -plant diabetes (OR: 4.88; 95% CI 1.30-18.34; p=0.019) and higher CAP values (OR: 1.04; 95% CI 1.02-1.06; p=0000) were identified as indepen-dent predictors of post-LT MAFLD. A CAP cutoff value of 270 dB/m exhib-ited an area under the receiver operating curve of 0.84 in detecting MAFLD.Conclusion: These findings underscore the notable prevalence of MAFLD in liver transplant recipients and suggest the potential utility of VCTE as a non-invasive tool for its detection.