Table 1.
Baseline characteristics of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease patients and comparison between low- and high-cardiovascular disease-risk groups
| Characteristics | Total | Low risk | High risk | P value |
| median (IQR); n (%) | n = 1122 | n = 800 | n = 322 | N/A |
| Age in yr | 53 (44-60) | 49 (41-55) | 63 (59-67) | < 0.001 |
| Female | 532 (47.4%) | 391 (48.9%) | 141 (43.8%) | 0.12 |
| Weight (kg) | 76 (66-87) | 77 (67-88) | 74 (65-84) | 0.002 |
| Height (m) | 1.63 (1.56-1.7) | 1.64 (1.57-1.71) | 1.61 (1.55-1.67) | < 0.001 |
| BMI (kg/m2) | 28.36 (25.8-31.47) | 28.38 (25.84-31.45) | 28.31 (25.68-31.65) | 0.572 |
| Waist circumference (cm) | 96.5 (89-104) | 96 (88.3-103.5) | 98 (90-106) | 0.017 |
| Hip circumference (cm) | 103 (97-109) | 103 (97-109) | 102.5 (96-109) | 0.502 |
| Ethnic origin: Chinese | 492 (43.9%) | 405 (50.6%) | 87 (27%) | < 0.001 |
| Diabetes | 642 (57.2%) | 365 (45.6%) | 277 (86%) | < 0.001 |
| Hypertension | 639 (57%) | 400 (50.1%) | 239 (74.5%) | < 0.001 |
| Dyslipidemia | 635 (56.6%) | 419 (66.6%) | 216 (75.5%) | 0.007 |
| Albumin (g/L) | 44 (41-46) | 44 (42-46) | 42.5 (39-45) | < 0.001 |
| ALT (U/L) | 63 (41-100) | 69 (43-106) | 49 (30-82) | < 0.001 |
| AST (U/L) | 40 (41-61) | 41 (27-61) | 39 (28-62) | 0.98 |
| ALP (U/L) | 75 (41-96) | 76 (63-95.5) | 74 (58-96.5) | 0.63 |
| GGT (U/L) | 64 (41-105) | 66 (38-103) | 60 (37-113) | 0.563 |
| HbA1c (%) | 6.6 (41-7.5) | 6.2 (5.6-7.2) | 7.2 (6-7.9) | < 0.001 |
| Total cholesterol (mmol/L) | 4.8 (41-5.5) | 4.9 (4.3-5.6) | 4.4 (3-5.113) | < 0.001 |
| LDL cholesterol (mmol/L) | 2.8 (41-3.4) | 2.95 (2.4-3.56) | 2.465 (1-3.1) | < 0.001 |
| HDL cholesterol (mmol/L) | 1.2 (41-1.4) | 1.2 (1-1.4) | 1.14 (0-1.37) | 0.002 |
| Triglycerides (mmol/L) | 1.6 (41-2.1) | 1.6 (1.151-2.1) | 1.6 (1-2.13) | 0.411 |
| Hemoglobin (g/dL) | 14.0 (41-15.2) | 14.2 (13.3-15.3) | 13.6 (12-14.6) | < 0.001 |
| Platelet (109/L) | 243 (41-289) | 249 (205-294.25) | 229 (189-280) | < 0.001 |
| WBC (109/L) | 7.1 (41-8.4) | 7.03 (5.8-8.39) | 7.25 (5-8.4) | 0.28 |
| NAFLD Activity Score1 | 4 (3-5) | 4 (3-5) | 4 (3-5) | 0.684 |
| Significant fibrosis (≥ F2): histopathology | 464 (41.4%) | 286 (35.9%) | 178 (55.3%) | < 0.001 |
| Advanced fibrosis (≥ F3): histopathology | 314 (28%) | 173 (21.7%) | 141 (43.8%) | < 0.001 |
| Cirrhosis | 109 (9.7%) | 50 (6.3%) | 59 (18.3%) | < 0.001 |
| CAP | 325 (294-349) | 323 (297-349) | 326 (286-349) | 0.979 |
| Liver stiffness measurement: TE (kPa) | 9.3 (6.7-13.9) | 8.6 (6.3-12) | 11 (7.6-15.8) | < 0.001 |
| 10-year CVD risk by QRISK2 (%) | 5.9 (2.6-10.9) | 3.8 (1.9-6.4) | 14.7 (12-19.3) | < 0.001 |
| Relative risk of 10-year CVD risk | 1.65 (1.13-2.2) | 1.51 (1.06-2.26) | 1.76 (1-2.08) | < 0.001 |
N/A: Not applicable; NAFLD: Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease; CVD: Cardiovascular disease; BMI: Body mass index; GGT: Gamma-glutamyl transferase; AST: Aspartate transaminase; ALT: Alanine transaminase; ALP: Alkaline phosphatase; CAP: Controlled attenuation parameter; TE: Transient elastography; WBC: White blood cell; LDL: Low-density lipoprotein; HDL: High-density lipoprotein; IQR: Interquartile range; F: Fibrosis stage.
1
Commonly referred to as NAS.