Response: Association between Non-Alcoholic Steatohepatitis and Left Ventricular Diastolic Dysfunction in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (Diabetes Metab J 2020;44:267–76)

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Diabetes Metab J. 2020;44(3):486-487
Publication date (electronic) : 2020 June 29
doi : https://doi.org/10.4093/dmj.2020.0127
1Department of Internal Medicine, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
2Department of Preventive Medicine, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
3Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Department of Medicine, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
4Institute of Endocrine Research, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
Corresponding author: Yong-ho Lee. Department of Internal Medicine, Yonsei University College of Medicine, 50 Yonsei-ro, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul 03722, Korea. yholee@yuhs.ac

We would like to thank Dr. Yu for showing great interest in and providing insightful comments on our article, entitled “Association between non-alcoholic steatohepatitis and left ventricular diastolic dysfunction in type 2 diabetes mellitus,” which was published in Diabetes & Metabolism Journal [1].

In our study, we observed a smaller odds ratio with significant heterogeneity for left ventricular (LV) diastolic dysfunction associated with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) or liver fibrosis in the presence of insulin resistance. This is a form of a negative multiplicative interaction between insulin resistance and hepatic steatosis/fibrosis in association with LV diastolic dysfunction [2]. The direction of the additive interaction, although not statistically significant, was also consistent with a negative interaction. Therefore, competing antagonism may exist between insulin resistance and hepatic steatosis/fibrosis, which share several common biological mechanisms and may compete with regard to outcomes [34]. The clinical implications of our study suggest that the presence of hepatic steatosis or fibrosis may be a “red flag” for subclinical cardiac dysfunction and diabetic cardiomyopathy among type 2 diabetes mellitus patients without severe systemic insulin resistance or other overt cardiometabolic diseases, seemingly low-risk patients.

We agree with Dr. Yu that long-term exposure to high blood pressure is an important risk factor for LV dysfunction and remodeling [5]. Although there is limited evidence on the association between the duration of hypertension and NAFLD or liver fibrosis, it may be reasonable for future studies to include the duration of hypertension as a potential confounder.

We also agree that randomized controlled trials should evaluate the beneficial effects of NAFLD intervention on LV diastolic dysfunction and remodeling. Prospective cohort studies as well as animal studies should seek to establish the underlying mechanisms and causality between NAFLD and diastolic dysfunction in type 2 diabetes mellitus. We are again grateful for Dr. Yu's invaluable comments.

Notes

CONFLICTS OF INTEREST: No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

References

1. Lee H, Kim G, Choi YJ, Huh BW, Lee BW, Kang ES, Cha BS, Lee EJ, Lee YH, Huh KB. Association between non-alcoholic steatohepatitis and left ventricular diastolic dysfunction in type 2 diabetes mellitus. Diabetes Metab J 2020;44:267–276. 30877708.
2. VanderWeele TJ. The interaction continuum. Version 2. Epidemiology 2019;30:648–658. 31205287.
3. VanderWeele TJ, Knol MJ. Remarks on antagonism. Am J Epidemiol 2011;173:1140–1147. 21490044.
4. Smith BW, Adams LA. Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease and diabetes mellitus: pathogenesis and treatment. Nat Rev Endocrinol 2011;7:456–465. 21556019.
5. Kishi S, Teixido-Tura G, Ning H, Venkatesh BA, Wu C, Almeida A, Choi EY, Gjesdal O, Jacobs DR Jr, Schreiner PJ, Gidding SS, Liu K, Lima JA. Cumulative blood pressure in early adulthood and cardiac dysfunction in middle age: the CARDIA Study. J Am Coll Cardiol 2015;65:2679–2687. 26112189.

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