Prevalence of hepatic steatosis and fibrosis in apparently healthy airline pilots: a transient elastography study

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Abstract
Background and Aim: Airline pilots (APs) are often characterized by a sed-entary lifestyle, predisposing them to adverse cardiometabolic consequences. In this cross-sectional study, we used transient elastography (TE) to investigate the prevalence of hepatic steatosis and fibrosis among apparently healthy APs. Materials and Methods: The study cohort consisted of 137 male APs of Caucasian descent who voluntarily underwent TE. To evaluate the extent and severity of hepatic steatosis and fibrosis, we employed established cut-off values for the controlled attenuation parameter (CAP) and liver stiffness measurement (LSM). Results: Of the APs, 34 (24.8%) were diagnosed with TE-defined steato-sis. Specifically, 25 APs (18.2%) exhibited mild steatosis, 6 (4.4%) mod-erate steatosis, and 3 (2.2%) severe steatosis. The majority of participants (80 APs or 58.4%) showed no signs of liver fibrosis based on LSM values. However, 49 APs (35.8%) were diagnosed with mild fibrosis (F1), 7 (5.1%) with significant fibrosis (F2), and one (0.7%) with advanced fibrosis (F3). None of the pilots had F4 (cirrhosis). In multivariable linear regression analysis, BMI was the sole independent predictor of both CAP (β=0.34, p

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