Table 1.
Baseline characteristics of participants with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and controls n (%)
| NAFLD, n = 817 | Controls, n = 2418 | |
| Demographic | ||
| Age (yr) | 48.47 ± 15.75 | 44.36 ± 16.20 |
| Gender (male) | 368 (45.04) | 1004 (41.52) |
| Race/ethnicity | ||
| White (non-Hispanic) | 308 (37.70) | 1046 (43.13) |
| Black (non-Hispanic) | 193 (23.62) | 705 (29.16) |
| Mexican American | 280 (34.27) | 550 (22.75) |
| Others | 36 (4.41) | 120 (4.96) |
| Body measurement | ||
| Body mass index (kg/m2) | 30.38 ± 6.95 | 26.56 ± 5.42 |
| Waist circumference (cm) | 101.73 ± 16.32 | 90.84 ± 13.45 |
| Biochemistry tests | ||
| Iron (μg/dL) | 75.35 ± 29.71 | 77.71 ± 32.75 |
| TIBC (μg/dL) | 364.79 ± 58.05 | 359.86 ± 56.59 |
| Transferrin saturation (%) | 21.13 ± 8.73 | 22.09 ± 9.65 |
| Ferritin (ng/mL) | 161.75 ± 152.55 | 110.16 ± 114.71 |
| Cholesterol (mg/dL) | 212.23 ± 44.95 | 202.73 ± 42.19 |
| Triglyceride (mg/dL) | 202.91 ± 137.97 | 136.58 ± 95.79 |
| HDL cholesterol (mg/dL) | 46.72 ± 16.80 | 52.10 ± 15.61 |
| C-reactive protein (mg/dL)1 | 0.56 ± 0.80 | 0.45 ± 0.65 |
| Uric acid (mg/dL) | 5.62 ± 1.52 | 5.04 ± 1.42 |
| Liver chemistry | ||
| AST (U/L)1 | 24.76 ± 19.62 | 20.72 ± 14.71 |
| ALT(U/L)1 | 22.78 ± 17.86 | 15.96 ± 12.14 |
| GGT (U/L)1 | 42.87 ± 66.68 | 28.14 ± 41.69 |
| ALP (U/L)1 | 93.72 ± 33.61 | 86.04 ± 36.29 |
| Total bilirubin (mg/dL) | 0.55 ± 0.30 | 0.54 ± 0.28 |
| Total protein (g/dL) | 7.49 ± 0.46 | 7.37 ± 0.45 |
| Albumin (g/dL) | 4.11 ± 0.35 | 4.12 ± 0.36 |
| Diabetes testing profile | ||
| HbA1c (%)1 | 6.02 ± 1.62 | 5.50 ± 1.09 |
| FPG (mg/dL)1 | 114.50 ± 65.84 | 97.85 ± 35.68 |
| Fasting C-peptide (pmol/mL) | 1.11 ± 0.68 | 0.69 ± 0.53 |
| Fasting insulin (μU/mL)1 | 21.85 ± 27.82 | 12.76 ± 19.24 |
1
The distribution is positively skewed with skewness > 3. ALP: Alkaline phosphatase; ALT: Alanine aminotransferase; AST: Aspartate aminotransferase; FPG: Fasting plasma glucose; GGT: Gamma glutamyl transferase; HbA1c: Glycated hemoglobin; TIBC: Total iron-binding capacity.