Abstract: Objective The aim of this study was to explore clinical implications of serum interferon (IFN)-α and IFN-β levels in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM)and metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD). Methods 87 patients with T2DM and 63 patients with T2DM and MAFLD were encountered in our hospital between September 2021 and August 2024. Serum IFN-α and IFN-β levels were assayed by ELISA, multivariate Logistic regression analysis was conducted to find risk factors forMAFLD in patients with T2DM, and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was applied to analyze predictive performance. Results BMI, concomitant blood hypertension, serum total cholesterol, total triglyceride, low density lipoprotein-cholesterol, uric acid (UA), IFN-α and IFN-β levels in patients with T2DM and MAFLD were (26.9±2.6)kg/m², 74.6%, (6.8±1.4)mmol/L, (4.3±1.7)mmol/L, (3.7±0.6)μmol/L, (477.1±31.2)μmol/L, (27.9±8.5)pg/mL and (260.1±59.2)pg/mL, all significantly higher than [(24.9±2.2)kg/m², 24.1%, (5.6±1.1)mmol/L, (2.2±0.6)mmol/L, (3.2±0.8)mmol/L, (329.7±30.1)μmol/L, (21.9±4.1)pg/mLand (205.7±51.8)pg/mL, respectively, P＜0.05] in patients with T2DM; multivariate Logistic regression analysis showed that BMI, serum UA, IFN-α and IFN-β levels were all the independent risk factors for patients with T2DM and MAFLD (P＜0.05); ROC analysis demonstrated that the AUC was 0.832, with sensitivity of 73.0% and specificity of 87.4% when serum IFN-α and IFN=β level combination was applied to predict MAFLD in patients with T2DM (P＜0.05). Conclusion Serum IFN-α and IFN-β levelsare significantlyelevated in patients with T2DM and MAFLD, and surveillance of them might help clinicians evaluate the progress of the entity.

Key words: Metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease, Type 2 diabetes mellitus, Interferon-α, IFN-β, Clinical implications