Table 1. Baseline Demographic, Laboratory, Metabolic, and Histological Features of 366 Italian Patients with Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease.
| Variable | Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (Sicily n = 197) | Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (Center/Northern Italy n = 169) | P value |
| Mean Age – years | 45.0±13.3 | 42.2±11.2 | 0.03 |
| Male Gender | 131 (66.5) | 130 (76.9) | 0.03 |
| Mean Body Mass Index – kg/m2 | 29.7±4.6 | 27.8±4.1 | <0.001 |
| Alanine Aminotransferase – IU/L | 79.4±55.1 | 77.8±53.3 | 0.78 |
| Arterial Hypertension | 46 (23.3) | 47 (27.8) | 0.21 |
| Type 2 Diabetes | 28 (14.2) | 22 (11.2) | 0.39 |
| Cholesterol – mg/dL | 205.8±44.8 | 203.4±45.2 | 0.74 |
| HDL Cholesterol – mg/dL | 49.0±15.4 | 47.7±11.3 | 0.38 |
| Triglycerides – mg/dL | 147.6±78.7 | 142.7±86.9 | 0.57 |
| Blood Glucose – mg/dL | 96.1±25.2 | 94.7±21.5 | 0.56 |
| Insulin – µU/mL | 16.5±9.6 | 14.5±10.6 | 0.08 |
| HOMA Score | 4.03±2.96 | 3.57±3.41 | 0.18 |
| PNPLA3 rs738409 polymorphism | |||
| C/C | 62 (31.5) | 54 (31.9) | |
| C/G | 94 (47.7) | 79 (46.7) | |
| G/G | 41 (20.8) | 36 (21.4) | 0.98 |
| GCKR rs780094 polymorphism | |||
| C/C | 32 (16.2) | 28 (16.6) | |
| C/T | 99 (50.3) | 80 (47.3) | |
| T/T | 66 (33.5) | 61 (36.1) | 0.98 |
| Histology | |||
| Lobular inflammation | |||
| 2–3 | |||
| Balloning | 83 (42.1) | 20 (11.8) | <0.001 |
| 1–2 | 181 (91.8) | 122 (71.7) | <0.001 |
| Steatosis grade | |||
| 1 (5%–33%) | 72 (36.6) | 76 (44.9) | |
| 2 (>33%–66%) | 62 (31.5) | 62 (36.7) | |
| 3 (>66%) | 63 (31.9) | 31 (18.4) | 0.01 |
| NAS≥5 | 116 (58.8) | 41 (24.2) | <0.001 |
| Stage of Fibrosis | |||
| 2–4 | 86 (43.6) | 72 (42.6) | 0.84 |
Abbreviation: IU, international units; HOMA, homeostasis model assessment; HDL, high density lipoprotein. Data are given as mean ± standard deviation, or as number of cases (%).