Table 1.
Clinical features of patients according to Fatty Liver Index.
| All | Fatty Liver Index | p 1 | p 2 | p 3 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| <30 | 30–59 | ≥60 | |||||
| n = 38880 | n = 5882 (15.1%) | n = 9804 (25.2%) | n = 23194 (59.6%) | ||||
| Male gender | 47.6% | 41.0% | 48.3% | 49.0% | δ | δ | — |
| Age (years) | 65 ± 12 | 66 ± 13 | 67 ± 11 | 64 ± 11 | α | δ | δ |
| Known duration of diabetes (years) | 9 ± 9 | 10 ± 10 | 9 ± 9 | 8 ± 9 | δ | δ | δ |
| BMI (body mass index) (Kg/m2) | 30 ± 6 | 24 ± 2 | 27 ± 3 | 33 ± 5 | δ | δ | δ |
| Waist circumference (cm) | 103 ± 13 | 87 ± 7 | 96 ± 6 | 110 ± 11 | δ | δ | δ |
| GGT (UI/L) | 39 ± 45 | 19 ± 14 | 28 ± 26 | 48 ± 52 | δ | δ | δ |
| Triglycerides (mg/dL) | 145 ± 99 | 88 ± 35 | 117 ± 50 | 172 ± 115 | δ | δ | δ |
| Fatty Liver Index | 64 ± 27 | 18 ± 8 | 46 ± 9 | 84 ± 12 | |||
| AST (UI/L) | 24 ± 17 | 21 ± 12 | 23 ± 17 | 26 ± 19 | δ | δ | δ |
| AST > 38 UI/L | 8.4% | 3.6% | 5.3% | 10.9% | δ | δ | δ |
| ALT (UI/L) | 29 ± 23 | 22 ± 14 | 25 ± 21 | 32 ± 26 | δ | δ | δ |
| ALT > 41 UI/L if male or >31 UI/L if female | 20.3% | 8.7% | 12.8% | 26.4% | δ | δ | δ |
| ALT > 30 UI/L if male or >9 UI/L if female | 46.7% | 32.0% | 37.1% | 54.4% | δ | δ | δ |
| Serum creatinine (mg/dL) | 0.95 ± 0.51 | 0.89 ± 0.50 | 0.94 ± 0.51 | 0.97 ± 0.50 | δ | δ | δ |
| eGFR (mL/min/1.73 m2) | 79 ± 22 | 81 ± 20 | 78 ± 21 | 78 ± 22 | δ | δ | — |
| eGFR < 60 mL/min/1.73 m2 | 19.7% | 15.0% | 19% | 21.2% | δ | δ | δ |
| Albuminuria | 26.8% | 20.2% | 23.4% | 30.0% | β | δ | δ |
| HbA1c (% and mmol/mol) | 7.5 (58) ± 1.6 | 7.3 (56) ± 1.6 | 7.3 (56) ± 1.5 | 7.6 (60) ± 1.7 | — | δ | δ |
| HbA1c ≥ 7% (53 mmol/mol) | 55.7% | 49.0% | 50.1% | 59.8% | — | δ | δ |
| Total cholesterol (mg/dL) | 184 ± 42 | 178 ± 38 | 180 ± 40 | 188 ± 43 | β | δ | δ |
| HDL-C (mg/dL) | 49 ± 14 | 58 ± 16 | 51 ± 14 | 46 ± 13 | δ | δ | δ |
| HDL-C < 40 if male or <50 mg/dL if female | 40.4% | 21.4% | 32.6% | 48.5% | δ | δ | δ |
| LDL-C (mg/dL) | 107 ± 36 | 103 ± 33 | 106 ± 34 | 108 ± 37 | δ | δ | δ |
| LDL-C ≥ 100 mg/dL | 54.7% | 50.1% | 53.6% | 56.3% | δ | δ | δ |
| Systolic blood pressure (mmHg) | 138 ± 19 | 134 ± 20 | 137 ± 19 | 139 ± 19 | δ | δ | δ |
| Diastolic blood pressure (mmHg) | 79 ± 10 | 76 ± 9 | 78 ± 10 | 80 ± 10 | δ | δ | δ |
| Blood pressure ≥ 140/85 mmHg | 55.6% | 46.2% | 53.1% | 59.1% | δ | δ | δ |
| Pulse pressure (mmHg) | 59 ± 16 | 58 ± 17 | 59 ± 17 | 59 ± 16 | δ | — | β |
| Q score | 27 ± 9 | 29 ± 8 | 28 ± 9 | 26 ± 9 | δ | δ | δ |
| Retinopathy | 12.0% | 12.5% | 12.1% | 11.8% | — | — | — |
| Smokers | 16.4% | 15.6% | 16.0% | 16.9% | — | α | β |
| FIB-4 > 3.25 (%) | 4.4% | ||||||
| Lipid lowering treatment | 54.2% | 49.6% | 55.5% | 54.8% | δ | δ | — |
| Treatment with statins | 49.1% | 47.6% | 51.6% | 48.4% | δ | — | δ |
| Treatment with fibrates | 3.4% | 1.3% | 2.4% | 4.3% | δ | δ | δ |
| Antihypertensive treatment | 71.6% | 57.7% | 69.7% | 75.9% | δ | δ | δ |
| Treatment with ACE-Is/ARBs | 59.8% | 47.0% | 57.3% | 64.1% | δ | δ | δ |
| Aspirin | 34.4% | 31.8% | 35.6% | 34.6% | δ | β | — |
| Diabetes treatment: | |||||||
| (i) Diet | 8.2% | 7.0% | 5.9% | α | δ | δ | |
| (ii) Insulin and metformin or sulfonamides | 12.9% | 10.4% | 11.2% | 14.2% | — | δ | δ |
| (iii) Metformin and sulfonamides | 31.7% | 28.9% | 32.8% | 31.9% | δ | δ | — |
| (iv) Metformin | 25.1% | 20.4% | 24.1% | 26.6% | δ | δ | δ |
| (v) Sulfonamides | 8.0% | 11.9% | 9.3% | 6.4% | δ | δ | δ |
| (vi) Other drugs | 1.3% | 1.4% | 1.4% | 1.2% | — | — | — |
| (vii) Thiazolidinediones | 3.5% | 3.0% | 3.4% | 3.6% | — | — | — |
| (viii) Dipeptidyl peptidase 4 inhibitors | 2.2% | 2.2% | 2.3% | 2.2% | — | — | — |
Mean ± standard deviation or percentage of patients. ACE-Is, angiotensin converting enzyme-inhibitors; ARBs, Angiotensin Receptor Blockers; ALT, alanine transaminase; AST, aspartate aminotransferase; BMI, body mass index; eGFR, estimated glomerular filtration rate; GGT, gamma-glutamyltransferase; HDL-C, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol; LDL-C, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol. Missing data: AST in 1187 (1.3%), ALT in 1266 (1.3%), serum creatinine and eGFR in 3280 (3.5%), albuminuria in 15901 (16.8%), total cholesterol in 92 (0.1%), HDL-C (mg/dL) in 168 (0.2%), and smoking status in 101 (0.1%). The FIB-4 was calculable in 15882 (40.8%) patients with complete ALT, AST, and platelet count. The level of statistical significance for differences between groups is indicated by p 1 for FLI 30–59 versus FLI < 30, p 2 for FLI ≥ 60 versus FLI < 30, and p 3 for FLI ≥ 60 versus FLI 30–59.
α: p < 0.05, β: p < 0.01, δ: p < 0.001, and —: n.s.