Table 7.
Comparison of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease patients with and without death after excluding those with established type 2 diabetes at baseline (n = 254) n (%) (mean ± SD)
| Variables | NAFLD patients without death (n = 226) | NAFLD patients with death (n = 28) | P value |
| Age (yr) | 44.5 ± 11.5 | 59.2 ± 14.3 | < 0.0001 |
| Sex (% male) | 113 (50) | 10 (35.7) | 0.11 |
| History of hypercholesterolemia | 56 (24.8) | 9 (32.1) | < 0.0001 |
| Obesity | 164 (72.6) | 22 (78.6) | 0.34 |
| BMI (kg/m2) | 33.5 ± 6.2 | 35.0 ± 6.6 | 0.25 |
| Platelet count (× 109/mm3) | 241 ± 58 | 242 ± 87 | 0.98 |
| Glucose (mg/dL) | 215.7 ± 46.6 | 215.7 ± 46.6 | |
| Cholesterol (mg/dL) | 215 ± 48 | 219 ± 56 | 0.72 |
| HDL-cholesterol (mg/dL) | 42 ± 12 | 43 ± 20 | 0.76 |
| AST (U/L) | 42.0 ± 23.0 | 39.7 ± 21.0 | 0.62 |
| ALT (U/L) | 65.7 ± 45.0 | 50 ± 29 | 0.02 |
| AST/ALT ratio | 0.76 ± 0.38 | 0.93 ± 0.57 | 0.14 |
| ALP(U/L) | 184 ± 66 | 246 ± 179 | 0.09 |
| GGT (U/L) | 132 ± 41 | 142 ± 36 | 0.32 |
| Albumin (g/dL) | 4.3 ± 0.3 | 4.2 ± 0.4 | < 0.0001 |
| FRS | 7.6 ± 6.2 | 10.5 ± 5.6 | 0.02 |
| Calculated CHD risk (%) | 15.3 ± 14.4 | 22.0 ± 18.8 | 0.076 |
| NFS | -2.11 ± 1.15 | -1.09 ± 1.61 | 0.003 |
| NFS of intermediate or high probability of advanced liver fibrosis (%) | 59 (26.1) | 19 (67.9) | < 0.0001 |
| B. During the follow-up periods | |||
| Use of metformin | 52 (23.0) | 1 (3.6) | 0.009 |
| Use of aspirin | 119 (52.7) | 9 (32.1) | 0.03 |
| Use of simvastatin | 90 (39.8) | 3 (10.7) | < 0.0001 |
| NFS change per year (median; IQR) | 0.08 ± 0.08 | 0.12 ± 0.36 | 0.61 |
In order to avoid overestimation of the model, we excluded those variables used as a part of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease fibrosis score calculation (age, history of diabetes, aspartate aminotransferase/alanine aminotransferase ratio, platelet counts, albumin, body mass index and Framingham risk score). NAFLD: Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease; BMI: Body mass index; ALT: Alanine aminotransferase; AST: Aspartate aminotransferase; FRS: Framingham risk score; CHD: Coronary heart disease; NFS: NAFLD fibrosis score; ALP: Alkaline phosphatase; GGT: Glutamyltransferase; HDL: High-density lipoprotein.