Low Vitamin D Trajectories Linked to Rising Liver Stiffness in Early-Onset

A retrospective study in Frontiers in Endocrinology reports that adults with early-onset type 2 diabetes and metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) who kept persistently low serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D over a year had the strongest link to later liver stiffness increases. Led by Hong Ji at Cangzhou Central Hospital in Hebei, researchers analyzed 286 patients treated between 2022 and 2025, using a landmark approach to separate baseline vitamin D from changes over time. Using latent class mixed-effects modeling, they grouped participants into persistently low (n=95), increasing (n=84), and stable high (n=107) trajectories. The primary endpoint was a follow-up liver stiffness measurement (LSM) rise of at least 20% and 2.0 kPa. Persistently low patients showed higher odds (odds ratio 3.34; 95% CI 1.68–6.61) versus stable high; sensitivity analyses supported the finding. The persistently low group also had higher adjusted follow-up LSM values, and a segmented model suggested steeper progression after the landmark period.