{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,23]],"date-time":"2026-03-23T10:03:31Z","timestamp":1774260211766,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":31,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"3","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,22]],"date-time":"2026-03-22T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1774137600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Diseases"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background\/Objectives: This observational study investigated associations between human leukocyte antigen (HLA) polymorphisms and imaging-defined hepatic steatosis (non-alcoholic fatty liver disease\u2014NAFLD) and liver fibrosis in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Methods: Steatosis was assessed by transient elastography (FibroScan) and defined as controlled attenuation parameter (CAP) \u2265 275 dB\/m; fibrosis was defined as liver stiffness measurement \u2265 8 kPa. We tested 11 frequent HLA alleles (HLA-A*02, HLA-B*07, HLA-B*08, HLA-B*27, HLA-B*35, HLA-B*44, HLA-B*51, HLA-DRB1*11, HLA-DRB1*14, HLA-DRB1*15, and HLA-DRB1*16). Associations were evaluated using multivariable logistic regression (individual and omnibus models) adjusted for age, body mass index (BMI), triglycerides, and glucose. Results: A total of 176 patients with rheumatoid arthritis were enrolled. NAFLD\/steatosis was present in 35.2% of patients (n = 62), and fibrosis in 10.8% (n = 19). No HLA allele was significantly associated with steatosis or fibrosis after correction for multiple testing. BMI and triglycerides were independently associated with steatosis (BMI OR 1.22, 95% CI 1.12\u20131.34; triglycerides OR 1.48, 95% CI 1.04\u20132.18). For fibrosis, HLA-DRB1*15 showed the strongest trend-level association (OR ~2.6\u20132.9) but did not remain significant after correcting for multiple testing. Conclusions: In this RA cohort, metabolic factors (particularly BMI and triglycerides) were the dominant predictors of CAP-defined steatosis. No robust association between the tested HLA markers and steatosis or fibrosis was identified. Trend-level signals\u2014most notably HLA-DRB1*15 for fibrosis\u2014should be considered hypothesis-generating and warrant replication in larger, adequately powered cohorts.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/diseases14030113","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,23]],"date-time":"2026-03-23T08:47:42Z","timestamp":1774255662000},"page":"113","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Association Between HLA Polymorphisms and Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease in Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis: An Observational Study"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"14","author":[{"given":"Tatjana","family":"Zeki\u0107","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Clinical Hospital Center Rijeka, 51000 Rijeka, Croatia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2742-9275","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Nata\u0161a","family":"Katalini\u0107","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Clinical Hospital Center Rijeka, Faculty of Medicine, University of Rijeka, 51000 Rijeka, Croatia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Filip","family":"Bla\u017ei\u0107","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Clinical Hospital Center Rijeka, 51000 Rijeka, Croatia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Nada","family":"Star\u010devi\u0107 \u010cizmarevi\u0107","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Medicine, University of Rijeka, 51000 Rijeka, Croatia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Aleksandar","family":"\u010cubrani\u0107","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Clinical Hospital Center Rijeka, 51000 Rijeka, Croatia"},{"name":"Clinical Hospital Center Rijeka, Faculty of Medicine, University of Rijeka, 51000 Rijeka, Croatia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,22]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1645","DOI":"10.1001\/jama.2015.3435","article-title":"Association of HLA-DRB1 Haplotypes with Rheumatoid Arthritis Severity, Mortality, and Treatment Response","volume":"313","author":"Viatte","year":"2015","journal-title":"JAMA"},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"477","DOI":"10.4254\/wjh.v15.i4.477","article-title":"Comparison between Metabolic-Associated Fatty Liver Disease and Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease: From Nomenclature to Clinical Outcomes","volume":"15","author":"Alomari","year":"2023","journal-title":"World J. 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