Table 1_Association of ultrasound-derived fat fraction with carotid intima-media thickness and carotid plaque in patients with type 2 diabetes: an exploratory cross-sectional study.docx

Associations remained materially similar in broader covariate models and after excluding 28 participants with prior atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. Adding UDFF to the primary clinical adjustment model increased R² for CIMT from 0.274 to 0.498 and the C-statistic for carotid plaque from 0.633 to 0.747 (DeLong P = 0.018). In the broader traditional vascular-risk model, the C-statistic increased from 0.697 to 0.758 (ΔC-statistic=0.061; DeLong P = 0.045).

In otherwise identical clinical models, discrimination for prevalent carotid plaque was greater with continuous UDFF than with the original four-category conventional ultrasonographic steatosis grade (0.747 vs 0.657; DeLong P = 0.008).</p>Conclusion<p>Higher UDFF was associated with greater CIMT and prevalent carotid plaque in patients with T2DM. UDFF provided incremental statistical information within this cohort, although the magnitude of improvement in plaque discrimination was smaller in the broader traditional vascular-risk model than in the primary clinical adjustment model.

Continuous UDFF also showed greater within-cohort discrimination than conventional four-category ultrasonographic steatosis grading. These cross-sectional findings do not establish causality or prospective cardiovascular risk prediction.</p>