Table 4.
Baseline demographic and clinical characteristics of patients classified on the basis of the serum leptin concentration
| Variable | Leptin ≤ 5 ng/mL (n = 18) | Leptin > 5 ng/mL (n = 15) | p value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sex (male/female) | 13/5 | 6/9 | 0.0604 |
| Age (years) | 72.5 [59–87] | 70 [50–85] | 0.2565 |
| BMI (kg/m2) | 21.5 [17.8–30.7] | 24.5 [18.5–27.7] | 0.1111 |
| Total body fat (cm2) | 167.5 [73.9–490.9] | 207.3 [112.2–350.8] | 0.2591 |
| Amount of visceral fat (cm2) | 69.4 [19.9–294.4] | 98.9 [21.9–181.6] | 0.9479 |
| Amount of subcutaneous fat (cm2) | 90.2 [42.0–232.3] | 134.3 [79.6–242.5] | 0.0461 |
| Etiology (C/others) | 14/4 | 11/4 | 0.767 |
| Child-Pugh classification (A/B/C) | 15/3/0 | 10/5/0 | 0.2657 |
| ALB (g/dL) | 3.6 [2.6–4.2] | 3.3 [2.4–4.4] | 0.2708 |
| PLT (×104/µL) | 12.45 [7.7–26.1] | 9.5 [3.0–20.6] | 0.0895 |
| FPG (mg/dL) | 97.5 [83–271] | 105 [75–154] | 0.7424 |
| FIRI (µU/mL) | 6.05 [2.57–65.2] | 14.3 [7.3–27.4] | 0.3657 |
| HOMA-IR | 1.51 [0.53–24.8] | 3.41 [1.45–9.40] | 0.641 |
| HbA1c (%) | 5.3 [4.5–10.3] | 5.2 [3.7–6.8] | 0.3351 |
| Stage (I/II) | 7/11 | 9/6 | 0.2253 |
| Initial treatment for HCC (resection/RFA) | 6/12 | 2/13 | 0.1726 |
| AFP (ng/mL) | 8 [0–20500] | 28 [1–2530] | 0.1687 |
| PIVKA-II (mAU/mL) | 22.7 [8–201000] | 26 [7–29800] | 0.4385 |
Values are median [range]. AFP, α-fetoprotein; C, hepatitis C virus; FPG, fasting plasma glucose; FIRI, fasting immunoreactive insulin; HbA1c, hemoglobin A1c; HCC, hepatocellular carcinoma; HOMA-IR, homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance; PIVKA-II, protein induced by vitamin K absence or antagonists-II; RFA, radiofrequency ablation.