Relationship between spleen volume and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease by three-dimensional computed tomography reconstruction

Xiao LIANG; Caixia DONG; Guodong LI; Qi SHANG; Bowen QIN; Dan WAN; Qian WANG; Lu LI; Xin CHEN; Zongfang LI

doi:10.12449/JCH250813

Volume 41 Issue 8

Aug. 2025

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Article Navigation > Journal of Clinical Hepatology > 2025 > 41(8): 1548-1555

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Relationship between spleen volume and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease by three-dimensional computed tomography reconstruction

DOI: 10.12449/JCH250813

Xiao LIANG¹,
Caixia DONG¹,
Guodong LI¹,
Qi SHANG^{1, 2},
Bowen QIN¹,
Dan WAN¹,
Qian WANG¹,
Lu LI³,
Xin CHEN⁴,
Zongfang LI^{1, 2
,
,
,}

1.
National-Local Joint Engineering Research Center of Biodiagnostics and Biotherapy The Second Affiliated Hospital of Xi’an Jiaotong University，Xi’an 710004，China
2.
Shaanxi Provincial Clinical Medical Research Center for Liver and Spleen Diseases The Second Affiliated Hospital of Xi’an Jiaotong University，Xi’an 710004，China
3.
Department of Gastroenterology The Second Affiliated Hospital of Xi’an Jiaotong University，Xi’an 710004，China
4.
Department of Radiology The Second Affiliated Hospital of Xi’an Jiaotong University，Xi’an 710004，China

Research funding:

The Natural Science Basic Research Project of Shaanxi Province (2023-JC-QN-0870);

The Natural Science Basic Research Project of Shaanxi Province (2023-YBSF-220);

The Project of the Second Affiliated Hospital of Xi’an Jiaotong University (2020YJ（ZYTS）546-07)

More Information

Corresponding author: LI Zongfang， lzf2568@xjtu.edu.cn （ORCID： 0000-0003-4813-1176）
Received Date: 2025-01-09
Accepted Date: 2025-03-14
Published Date: 2025-08-25

Abstract

Abstract

Objective To investigate the association of spleen volume with the risk of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease （NAFLD） as well as their causal relationship. Methods We included 90 NAFLD cases and 47 healthy controls who had received contrast-enhanced computed tomography （CT） scan of the abdomen at the Second Affiliated Hospital of Xi’an Jiaotong University from November 2022 to November 2023. We conducted three-dimensional reconstruction of the spleen through a deep learning network model using a two-stage coarse-to-fine segmentation approach. We compared the two groups using the two-sample t test or Mann-Whitney U test for continuous data and using the chi-square test for categorical data； evaluated the correlation between spleen volume and liver function indicators through Pearson correlation or Spearman rank correlation analyses； determined the factors influencing the development of NAFLD through multivariable Logistic regression analysis； and further assessed the casual relationship between spleen volume and NAFLD using the inverse variance-weighted two-sample Mendelian randomization （IVW-MR） method. Results Spleen volume was significantly larger in NAFLD cases than in controls （272.93±104.16 vs 204.37±81.20 cm³， P<0.001）. The Spearman rank correlation analysis showed that spleen volume was positively correlated with the hepatic steatosis index （r_s =0.422， P<0.001） and gamma-glutamyl transferase levels （r_s =0.211， P=0.047） in patients with NAFLD. The multivariable Logistic regression analysis indicated that spleen volume was an independent risk factor for the development of NAFLD （odds ratio ［OR］=1.01， 95% confidence interval ［CI］： 1.00　—　1.02， P=0.049）. The IVW-MR analysis detected a causal relationship between spleen volume and NAFLD （OR=1.16， 95%CI： 1.05　—　1.28， P=0.005）. Conclusion Increased spleen volume may be a risk factor for the development and progression of NAFLD. Further studies are still needed to investigate the specific mechanism.
- Spleen Volume,
- Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease,
- Imaging， Three-Dimensional,
- Mendelian Randomization Analysis

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References

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Relationship between spleen volume and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease by three-dimensional computed tomography reconstruction

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Relationship between spleen volume and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease by three-dimensional computed tomography reconstruction

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