Table 1.
Characteristics of the study population with and without minimal hepatic encephalopathy n (%)
| Characteristics | MHE | Non-MHE | P value |
| Gender | |||
| Male | 140 (67.6) | 216 (69.2) | 0.77 |
| Female | 67 (32.4) | 96 (30.8) | |
| Mean age (yr), mean ± SD | 51.56 ± 9.70 | 47.58 ± 11.55 | < 0.01 |
| Level of education | |||
| Grade six or less | 93 (44.9) | 34 (10.9) | < 0.01 |
| Junior high school | 64 (39.9) | 76 (24.4) | |
| Senior high school/vocational school | 32 (15.5) | 94 (30.1) | |
| College degree or more | 12 (5.8) | 88 (28.2) | |
| Unknown | 6 (2.9) | 20 (6.4) | |
| Driving | |||
| Yes | 50 (24.2) | 89 (28.5) | 0.22 |
| No | 144 (69.6) | 193 (61.9) | |
| Unknown | 13 (6.3) | 30 (9.6) | |
| Primary etiology for chronic liver disease | |||
| Hepatitis B virus | 117 (56.5) | 172 (55.5) | 0.18 |
| Hepatitis B virus and alcohol | 21 (10.1) | 40 (12.9) | |
| Alcohol | 30 (14.5) | 19 (6.1) | |
| Hepatitis C virus | 11 (5.3) | 27 (8.7) | |
| Hepatitis B and C virus | 2 (1.0) | 1 (0.3) | |
| Autoimmune hepatitis | 12 (5.8) | 27 (8.7) | |
| Other | 14 (6.8) | 24 (7.7) | |
| History of prior variceal bleeding | |||
| Yes | 43 (20.7) | 82 (26.3) | 0.21 |
| No | 158 (76.3) | 226 (72.4) | |
| Unknown | 6 (2.9) | 4 (1.3) | |
| History of prior ascites | |||
| Yes | 131 (63.3) | 139 (44.6) | 0.00 |
| No | 66 (31.9) | 168 (53.8) | |
| Unknown | 10 (4.8) | 5 (1.6) | |
| Duration of liver cirrhosis (yr), mean ± SD | 2.28 ± 3.06 | 2.73 ± 3.21 | 0.25 |
MHE: Minimal hepatic encephalopathy.