Background/purposeMetabolic-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) is a major cause of chronic liver disease worldwide and is generally thought to be closely related to obesity and diabetes. However, it also affects non-obese individuals, particularly in Asian cultures.MethodsHealthy physical examination subjects and MAFLD patients were included in the endocrinology department of Jiangsu Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine. MAFLD was defined as fatty liver in imaging without virus infection, drug, alcohol, or other known causes of chronic liver disease. Non-obese MAFLD was defined as MAFLD in non-obese subjects (BMI