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. 2025 Jan 2;50(1):115–130. doi: 10.1159/000543404

Table 2.

Baseline characteristics of participants with and without MASLD

Variables Total (n = 24,342) Non-MASLD (n = 12,499) MASLD (n = 11,843) p value
Gender, n (%) <0.001
 Male 12,237 (50.27) 5,741 (45.93) 6,496 (54.85)
 Female 12,105 (49.73) 6,758 (54.07) 5,347 (45.15)
Age, years 49.00 (35.00, 63.00) 46.00 (31.00, 63.00) 52.00 (39.00, 64.00) <0.001
Race, n (%) <0.001
 Mexican American 3,596 (14.77) 1,470 (11.76) 2,126 (17.95)
 Non-Hispanic White 10,727 (44.07) 5,545 (44.36) 5,182 (43.76)
 Non-Hispanic Black 4,910 (20.17) 2,470 (19.76) 2,440 (20.60)
 Other race 5,109 (20.99) 3,014 (24.11) 2,095 (17.69)
Education level, n (%) <0.001
 Less than 9th grade 2,208 (9.07) 967 (7.74) 1,241 (10.48)
 9–12th grade 8,912 (36.61) 4,278 (34.23) 4,634 (39.13)
 More than 12th grade 13,222 (54.32) 7,254 (58.04) 5,968 (50.39)
Marital status, n (%) <0.001
 Cohabitation 14,561 (59.82) 7,227 (57.82) 7,334 (61.93)
 Solitude 9,781 (40.18) 5,272 (42.18) 4,509 (38.07)
Family PIR, n (%) <0.001
 Low (≤1.3) 7,640 (31.39) 3,761 (30.09) 3,879 (32.75)
 Medium (1.3–3.5) 9,197 (37.78) 4,605 (36.84) 4,592 (38.77)
 High (>3.5) 7,505 (30.83) 4,133 (33.07) 3,372 (28.47)
Smoke, n (%) <0.001
 Yes 11,101 (45.60) 5,289 (42.32) 5,812 (49.08)
 No 13,241 (54.40) 7,210 (57.68) 6,031 (50.92)
Alcohol, n (%) 0.022
 Yes 16,884 (69.36) 8,752 (70.02) 8,132 (68.67)
 No 7,458 (30.64) 3,747 (29.98) 3,711 (31.33)
Physical activity, n (%) <0.001
 Inactive 6,111 (25.10) 2,694 (21.55) 3,417 (28.85)
 Moderate 9,140 (37.55) 4,655 (37.24) 4,485 (37.87)
 Vigorous 9,091 (37.35) 5,150 (41.20) 3,941 (33.28)
DM, n (%) <0.001
 Yes 4,655 (19.12) 1,265 (10.12) 3,390 (28.62)
 No 19,687 (80.88) 11,234 (89.88) 8,453 (71.38)
Hypertension, n (%) <0.001
 Yes 8,823 (36.25) 3,159 (25.27) 5,664 (47.83)
 No 15,519 (63.75) 9,340 (74.73) 6,179 (52.17)
CHD, n (%) <0.001
 Yes 1,005 (4.13) 379 (3.03) 626 (5.29)
 No 23,337 (95.87) 12,120 (96.97) 11,217 (94.71)
Stroke, n (%) <0.001
 Yes 889 (3.65) 381 (3.05) 508 (4.29)
 No 23,453 (96.35) 12,118 (96.95) 11,335 (95.71)
Cancer, n (%) <0.001
 Yes 2,345 (9.63) 1,106 (8.85) 1,239 (10.46)
 No 21,997 (90.37) 11,393 (91.15) 10,604 (89.54)
BMI, kg/m2 28.14 (24.41, 32.71) 24.67 (22.30, 27.00) 32.79 (29.70, 37.00) <0.001
WC, cm 98.40 (88.00, 109.50) 88.50 (81.50, 95.00) 109.80 (102.80, 119.00) <0.001
FPG, mg/dL 93.00 (86.00, 105.00) 90.00 (83.00, 98.00) 98.00 (89.00, 113.00) <0.001
HbA1c, % 5.50 (5.20, 5.90) 5.40 (5.20, 5.70) 5.70 (5.40, 6.20) <0.001
TC, mg/dL 189.50 (164.00, 218.00) 185.00 (160.00, 213.00) 194.00 (168.00, 223.00) <0.001
TG, mg/dL 121.00 (81.00, 187.00) 92.00 (66.00, 131.00) 166.00 (114.00, 246.00) <0.001
HDL-c, mg/dL 50.00 (41.00, 61.00) 56.00 (47.00, 68.00) 45.00 (38.00, 53.00) <0.001
AST, U/L 23.00 (19.00, 27.00) 22.00 (19.00, 26.00) 24.00 (20.00, 29.00) <0.001
ALT, U/L 21.00 (16.00, 28.00) 18.00 (15.00, 24.00) 24.00 (18.00, 34.00) <0.001
GGT, IU/L 20.00 (14.00, 31.00) 16.00 (12.00, 22.00) 26.00 (19.00, 41.00) <0.001
Total bilirubin, mg/dL 0.60 (0.50, 0.80) 0.60 (0.50, 0.80) 0.60 (0.40, 0.80) <0.001
Creatinine, mg/dL 0.85 (0.72, 1.01) 0.83 (0.71, 0.99) 0.87 (0.73, 1.03) <0.001
Uric acid, mg/dL 5.40 (4.50, 6.40) 4.90 (4.10, 5.80) 5.90 (5.00, 6.80) <0.001
BUN, mg/dL 13.00 (10.00, 16.00) 13.00 (10.00, 16.00) 13.00 (10.00, 16.00) <0.001
FLI 58.18 (24.11, 86.13) 25.06 (11.20, 42.28) 86.75 (74.84, 95.35) <0.001
Kidney stones, n (%) <0.001
 Yes 2,377 (9.77) 947 (7.58) 1,430 (12.07)
 No 21,965 (90.23) 11,552 (92.42) 10,413 (87.93)

Data are shown as median (25th, 75th percentiles) or number (percentages), and p < 0.05 considered statistically significant.

MASLD, metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease; PIR, poverty-to-income ratio; BMI, body mass index; WC, waist circumference; FPG, fasting plasma glucose; HbA1c, hemoglobin A1c; TC, total cholesterol; TG, triglyceride; HDL-c, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol; ALT, alanine transaminase; AST, aspartate aminotransferase; GGT, gamma-glutamyl transferase; BUN, blood urea nitrogen; FLI, fatty liver index.