Table 4.
Characteristics of the study population according to quartiles of dietary pattern scores.
| Dietary Pattern Scores, Quartile $ | p for Trend * | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Q1 (n = 52) | Q2 (n = 53) | Q3 (n = 53) | Q4 (n = 53) | ||
| Age (years) | 37.59 ± 11.81 | 40.23 ± 11.46 | 41.78 ± 12.24 | 45.63 ± 11.24 | 0.014 |
| Hypogonadism (n, %) | 3 (11.5) | 1 (3.7) | 4 (14.8) | 10 (38.5) | 0.006 |
| Iron overload (n, %) | 2 (8.0) | 7 (25.9) | 8 (29.6) | 7 (28.0) | 0.229 |
| NAFLD (n, %) | 17 (65.4) | 18 (66.7) | 26 (96.3) | 23 (88.5) | 0.008 |
| Type 2 diabetes (n, %) | 1 (3.8) | 1 (3.7) | 4 (14.8) | 4 (15.4) | 0.264 |
| MetS (n, %) | 2 (8.0) | 4 (14.8) | 9 (33.3) | 11 (44.0) | 0.011 |
| Anthropometry | |||||
| W/H ratio | 0.87 ± 0.05 | 0.90 ± 0.07 | 0.92 ± 0.05 | 0.91 ± 0.07 | 0.007 |
| BMI (kg/m2) | 23.41 ± 2.22 | 24.77 ± 4.58 | 26.65 ± 3.51 | 26.91 ± 5.22 | 0.001 |
| Total body fat mass (%) | 22.98 ± 4.13 | 23.72 ± 5.02 | 26.44 ± 4.28 | 26.95 ± 6.08 | 0.001 |
| Skeleton muscle mass (%) | 71.48 ± 4.40 | 70.51 ± 4.99 | 67.81 ± 4.13 | 67.32 ± 6.01 | 0.001 |
| Visceral fat mass (%) | 3.25 ± 0.88 | 3.52 ± 1.18 | 4.11 ± 0.99 | 4.35 ± 1.57 | <0.001 |
| Glucose Biomarkers | |||||
| Fasting glucose (mg/dL) | 86.64 ± 6.67 | 87.48 ± 6.71 | 94.93 ± 26.10 | 93.92 ± 15.58 | 0.043 |
| HbA1c (%) | 5.56 ± 0.44 | 5.69 ± 0.60 | 6.10 ± 1.03 | 5.98 ± 0.68 | 0.012 |
| Insulin (µIU/mL) | 7.28 ± 3.47 | 7.01 ± 2.84 | 11.12 ± 5.32 | 13.42 ± 7.86 | <0.001 |
| HOMA-IR | 1.54 ± 0.69 | 1.52 ± 0.65 | 2.53 ± 1.14 | 3.20 ± 2.16 | <0.001 |
| Lipid Biomarkers | |||||
| Total cholesterol (mg/dL) | 188.76 ± 26.96 | 203.96 ± 30.80 | 200.59 ± 48.19 | 192.88 ± 49.12 | 0.802 |
| TG (mg/dL) | 85.64 ± 40.81 | 113.33 ± 54.36 | 147.44 ± 59.33 | 160.84 ± 98.34 | <0.001 |
| HDL-C (mg/dL) | 52.60 ± 11.17 | 53.51 ± 12.62 | 47.40 ± 10.79 | 46.79 ± 15.43 | 0.038 |
| LDL-C (mg/dL) | 113.92 ± 29.42 | 127.07 ± 29.63 | 127.89 ± 41.56 | 115.20 ± 37.50 | 0.882 |
| Iron Biomarkers | |||||
| RBC (MIL/mm3) | 5.32 ± 0.80 | 5.25 ± 0.71 | 5.38 ± 0.80 | 5.23 ± 0.82 | 0.855 |
| Hb (gm/dL) | 15.76 ± 1.97 | 15.91 ± 2.22 | 16.04 ± 2.19 | 15.50 ± 2.33 | 0.736 |
| Free Hb (µg/mL) | 149.03 ± 47.10 | 147.82 ± 48.55 | 174.95 ± 53.21 | 161.42 ± 42.20 | 0.158 |
| Fe (µg/dL) | 108.92 ± 34.95 | 119.48 ± 29.80 | 109.00 ± 38.24 | 111.08 ± 33.85 | 0.896 |
| Ferritin (ng/mL) | 150.09 ± 81.65 | 248.26 ± 154.48 | 258.70 ± 191.44 | 237.62 ± 170.30 | 0.052 |
| TS (%) | 33.14 ± 10.75 | 36.46 ± 10.48 | 30.61 ± 12.41 | 32.64 ± 11.29 | 0.466 |
| sCD163 (ng/mL) | 822.54 ± 523.70 | 670.10 ± 239.59 | 940.25 ± 655.14 | 959.94 ± 437.00 | 0.144 |
| Hepcidin (ng/mL) | 154.22 ± 74.12 | 175.59 ± 84.87 | 218.43 ± 112.81 | 189.68 ± 102.76 | 0.081 |
| RBC deformability SS1/2 (Pa) | 2.19 ± 0.18 | 2.21 ± 0.16 | 2.25 ± 0.19 | 2.28 ± 0.19 | 0.079 |
| RBC aggregation CSS (mPa) | 246.59 ± 46.42 | 260.89 ± 52.52 | 298.89 ± 68.71 | 299.50 ± 70.07 | 0.001 |
| Sex Hormone Biomarkers | |||||
| Total T (ng/mL) | 4.83 ± 1.23 | 4.73 ± 1.20 | 3.56 ± 0.83 | 3.54 ± 1.36 | <0.001 |
| Free T (pg/mL) | 96.35 ± 21.27 | 91.31 ± 25.44 | 79.96 ± 20.97 | 67.13 ± 23.91 | <0.001 |
| SHBG (nmol/L) | 32.98 ± 12.64 | 36.68 ± 15.04 | 25.03 ± 6.73 | 35.22 ± 17.21 | 0.683 |
* p for trend was analyzed by a general linear model for continuous variables and Chi-squared test for categorical variables. Continuous data are presented as the mean ± standard deviation, while categorical data are presented as the number (percentage of the same group). $ Dietary pattern scores quartiles: Quartile 1 ≤−0.45; Quartile 2 >−0.45 to ≤−0.09; Quartile 3 >−0.09 to ≤0.43; Quartile 4 >0.43. NAFLD, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease; MetS, metabolic syndrome; W/H, waist to hip; BMI, body-mass index; HOMA-IR, homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance; TG, triglyceride, HDL-C, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol; LDL-C, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol; RBC, red blood cell; Hb, hemoglobin; Fe, serum iron; TS, transferrin saturation; sCD163, soluble cluster of differentiation 163; SS, shear stress; Pa, Pascal; CSS, critical shear stress; mPa, milliPascal; T, testosterone; SHBG, sex hormone-binding globulin.