ArticleJournal of gastroenterology and hepatology2026
Smoking and Risk of Hepatic Steatosis Within the MASLD Spectrum in Korean Young Adults.
Article in Journal of gastroenterology and hepatology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND
aimsMetabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) is an increasing public health concern, particularly among young adults. Although smoking has been implicated in hepatic steatosis, large-scale longitudinal evidence remains limited.
methodsWe analyzed data from the Korean National Health Insurance Service, including 3 496 144 adults aged 20-39 years who underwent health examinations between 2004 and 2007 and were followed through 2022. Hepatic steatosis was assessed using the Fatty Liver Index (FLI), a validated surrogate marker, and categorized as < 30, 30-59, or ≥ 60. Smoking exposure was evaluated at baseline according to smoking amount, duration, and pack-years. Cox proportional hazards models were used to estimate adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs).
resultsSmoking was associated with an increased risk of incident FLI-defined hepatic steatosis across multiple exposure metrics. Among men, smoking ≥ 20 cigarettes/day was associated with the highest risk of FLI ≥ 60 (HR 1.41, 95% CI 1.40-1.43), whereas 10-19 years of smoking was associated with an HR of 1.15 (95% CI 1.14-1.15). Among women, 10-19 years of smoking was associated with a 49% higher risk of FLI ≥ 60 (HR 1.49, 95% CI 1.43-1.56). Associations were generally stronger among participants with BMI < 25 kg/m
conclusionsSmoking was independently associated with an increased risk of FLI-defined hepatic steatosis in young adults. These findings support smoking prevention and cessation strategies as potential measures to reduce early-onset steatotic liver disease.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.