Table 2.

Clinical characteristics of obese healthy women and those with MetS characterized for WAT ECM, metabolic, and inflammatory phenotypes^*

	Healthy Obese n = 12	MetS Obese n = 10	P Value
Age, yr	39 ± 3.6	41 ± 3.4	NS
BMI	40.5 ± 1.0	43.6 ± 2.3	NS
Plasma glucose, mg/dl	88 ± 1	101 ± 3	0.0006
Serum insulin, μU/ml	14 ± 1	53 ± 17	0.016
QUICKI	0.327 ± 0.004	0.277 ± 0.006	<0.0001
Triglycerides, mg/dl	85 ± 7	132 ± 15	0.009
Total cholesterol, mg/dl	191 ± 13	184 ± 11	NS
LDL cholesterol, mg/dl	125 ± 11	113 ± 9	NS
HDL cholesterol, mg/dl	49 ± 2.9	44 ± 4.4	NS
Systolic BP, mmHg	123 ± 2.3	130 ± 4.3	NS
Diastolic BP, mmHg	73 ± 1.3	77 ± 1.8	NS
Serum ALT, IU/l	24 ± 3	45 ± 9	0.025
Serum AST, IU/l	21 ± 2	41 ± 11	NS
Steatosis**	0.5 ± 0.2	1.2 ± 0.3	0.048
Serum protein, g/dl	7.1 ± 0.1	7.6 ± 0.2	0.003
hsCRP, mg/l	0.8 ± 0.2	0.8 ± 0.2	NS

Data are presented as means ± SE. MetS, metabolic syndrome; ECM, extracellular matrix; BMI, body mass index; QUICKI, quantitative insulin sensitivity check index, calculated as 1/[log (insulin μU/ml) + log (glucose mg/dl)]; BP, blood pressure; ALT, alanine aminotransferase; AST, aspartate aminotransferase; hsCRP, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein.

^*Clinical values are in the overnight-fasted state taken 1–2 wk before bariatric surgery.

^**Blinded clinical pathology score derived from histology of surgical liver biopsy (scale 0–3: 0 = none, <5% steatosis; 1 = mild, 5–33% steatosis; 2 = moderate, 34–66% steatosis; 3 = severe, >66% steatosis); n = 11 for healthy steatosis score. Comparisons with P < 0.05 by Student's t-test are considered significantly different. Significant values are in boldface.