Objective  To analyze the expression and significance of serum high mobility group protein A1 (HMGA1) in patients with metabolic associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD).

  Methods  A total of 34 patients diagnosed as MAFLD in Rudong County People′s Hospital in Jiangsu Province from May 2020 to January 2021 were selected as MAFLD group, and 36 healthy people with physical examinations were selected as control group. Indexes such as height, weight, body mass index (BMI), serum interleukin-6 (IL-6), glucose (GLU), glycated hemoglobin (GHb), triglyceride (TG), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), γ-glutamyl transpeptidase (GGT) and HMGA1 were compared between two groups.

  Results  The content of HMGA1 in the MAFLD group was (11.97±0.45) ng/mL, which was significantly higher than (8.34±0.40) ng/mL in the control group (P < 0.01). HMGA1 was positively correlated with BMI, IL-6, GLU, GHb, TG and ALT (P < 0.05 or P < 0.01). Multiple linear regression analysis showed that HMGA1 was significantly correlated with IL-6 (P < 0.05).

  Conclusion  Serum HMGA1 in patients with MAFLD increases significantly and is positively correlated with IL-6, which indicate that HMGA1 plays an important role in the pathogenesis of MAFLD, and it may reflect the severity of the disease.