To investigate the longitudinal association between smoking exposure and incident hepatic steatosis in young Korean adults, exploring differences based on obesity status and alcohol consumption within the MASLD framework.
Approach:
Outcome Ascertainment: Follow-up time was calculated from baseline examination to the earliest occurrence of incident FLI-defined steatosis, death, or administrative censoring.
Key Findings:
Smoking exposure is associated with increased risk of hepatic steatosis in young adults.
The association varies based on obesity status and alcohol consumption.
Lean individuals with steatotic liver disease may also face increased risks.
Interpretation:
Limitations:
Reliance on self-reported smoking data may introduce recall bias.
FLI may not fully capture the current consensus definition of MASLD.
