Abstract: Objective The aim of this study was to investigate correlation of serum volatile organic compounds (VOCs) to and body inflammatory index in patients with metabolism-related fatty liver disease(MAFLD): an analysis based on 2017-2020 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey database (NHANES). Methods Data from NHANES database from 2017 to 2020 were retrieved, patients who met diagnosis of MAFLD were enrolled and their laboratory tests, including serum VOCs levels and results of questionnaires were collected. Systemic inflammatory response index (SIRI) and systemic iImmunoinflammatory index (SII) were calculated. Multivariate Logistic regression modeling was applied to analyze correlation of the two inflammatory indicators to serum VOC content. Results SII in 2991 patients with MAFLD was (531±325), SIRI was (1.8±1.01), serum 1,4-dichlorobenzene level was (1.2±8.2) ng/mL, and serum 2,5-dimethylfuran level was (0.1±0.1) ng/mL; serum 2,5-dimethylfuran level was positively correlated with SIRI (r=0.3, P<0.05) and with SII (r=0.3, P<0.05) in patients with MAFLD; by multivariate Logistic regression modeling analysis, serum 2,5-dimethylfuran level was found to be associated with SIRI (β=1.8±0.3, P<0.05) and with SII (β=696.7±122.4, P<0.05) in unadjusted model; the model adjusted by age found that SIRI (β=2.0±0.3, P<0.05) and SII (β=709.1±123.9, P<0.05) were positively correlated to serum 2,5-dimethylfuran level; serum 2,5-dimethylfuran level was found to be still correlated to SIRI (β=1.7±0.3, P<0.05) or to SII (β=655.8±129.7, P<0.05) by adjusting the model for age, gender, body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), smoking, hypertension, diabetes, total triglycerides (TG), alanine Aminotransferase (ALT), high-density lipoprotein (HDL) and high sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP). Conclusion Exposure of individuals to higher levels of 2,5-dimethylfuran could exacerbate body systemic inflammatory response, which might trigger MAFLD occurrence.

Key words: Metabolism-related fatty liver disease, Volatile organic compounds, Systemic inflammatory response index, Systemic immunoinflammatory index, Multivariate Logistic regression analysis