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Research Article: Association between the fibrosis-4 index and carotid atherosclerosis in Chinese patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus: a cross-sectional study

Date Published: 2026-07-13

Abstract:
This study aimed to investigate the association between the fibrosis-4 (FIB-4) index and diabetes-related vascular complications in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). The primary outcome was carotid atherosclerosis (CAS), with lower extremity arterial disease (LEAD) and diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN) as secondary outcomes. This cross-sectional study included 1,045 patients with T2DM. Logistic regression models were applied to assess associations between FIB-4 and the risks of CAS, LEAD, and DPN. Restricted cubic spline (RCS) analyses were conducted to evaluate potential nonlinear relationships. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were used to determine the discriminatory performance of FIB-4 for each outcome. Subgroup analyses were performed to assess the robustness of the associations across different patient strata. Higher FIB-4 levels were associated with increased odds of CAS after adjustment for potential confounders. In the fully adjusted model, with the lowest FIB-4 quartile as the reference, odds ratios for CAS in the second, third, and fourth quartiles were 1.16 (95% CI: 0.79–1.72), 1.75 (95% CI: 1.19–2.58), and 2.04 (95% CI: 1.39–3.00), respectively. RCS analysis demonstrated a nonlinear association between FIB-4 and CAS risk (P < 0.001). Limited discriminatory performance of FIB-4 for CAS was observed, with an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.579 and an optimal cutoff value of 0.94. Weaker but similar associations were identified for LEAD and DPN, with slightly higher discriminatory ability for LEAD (AUC = 0.587) compared to DPN (AUC = 0.532). Subgroup analyses generally supported the stability of these findings. Elevated FIB-4 was significantly associated with higher risks of CAS and LEAD in patients with T2DM, with the strongest association observed for CAS. The association between FIB-4 and DPN did not reach statistical significance after multivariable adjustment. FIB-4 may serve as a simple and practical adjunct marker for risk stratification of diabetes-related macrovascular complications, particularly CAS, in T2DM.

Introduction:
Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) frequently coexist within the same patient population, substantially increasing the risk of cardiovascular disease, which remains the leading cause of mortality in this group. Carotid atherosclerosis (CAS) represents a robust surrogate marker for future adverse cardiovascular events. In patients with MASLD, both hepatic steatosis and liver fibrosis have been strongly associated with CAS ( 1 ). Accumulating evidence…

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