Use of HOMA-IR to diagnose non-alcoholic fatty liver disease: a population-based and inter-laboratory study

Methods We identified healthy individuals in two population-based cohorts (FINRISK 2007 [n = 5024] and the Programme for Prevention of Type 2 Diabetes in Finland [FIN-D2D; n = 2849]) to define the upper 95th percentile of HOMA-IR. Non-obese individuals with normal fasting glucose levels, no excessive alcohol use, no known diseases and no use of any drugs were considered healthy. The optimal HOMA-IR cut-off for NAFLD (liver fat >= 5.56%, based on the Dallas Heart Study) was determined in 368 non-diabetic individuals (35% with NAFLD), whose liver fat was measured using proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H-MRS). Samples from ten individuals were simultaneously analysed for HOMA-IR in seven European laboratories.

Aims/hypothesis Recent European guidelines for nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) call for reference values for HOMA-IR. In this study, we aimed to determine: (1) the upper limit of normal HOMA-IR in two population-based cohorts; (2) the HOMA-IR corresponding to NAFLD; (3) the effect of sex and PNPLA3 genotype at rs738409 on HOMA-IR; and (4) inter-laboratory variations in HOMA-IR.