Table 1.
Characteristics of patients presenting with or without autoantibodies
| Auto-Abs(+) group at baseline, n = 69 | Auto-Abs(-) group at baseline, n = 95 | p | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Female, n (%) | 33 (47.8) | 38 (40.0) | 0.318 |
| Age, y, median (IQR) | 61 (50-67) | 52 (38-61) | 0.001 |
| Past/current cancer, n (%) | 4 (5.8) | 7 (7.4) | 0.691 |
| Concomitant autoimmune diseases, n (%) | 11 (15.9) | 6 (6.3) | 0.046 |
| Immunosuppressive treatment, n (%) | 5 (7.2) | 6 (6.3) | 0.814 |
| Baseline parameters, median (IQR) | |||
| ALT, ×ULN | 31.5 (18.2–43.1) | 30.5 (16.2–44.9) | 0.794 |
| AST, ×ULN | 30.2 (13.8–45.5) | 25.8 (10.6–45.8) | 0.289 |
| ALP, ×ULN | 1.6 (1.2–1.8) | 1.3 (1.1–1.7) | 0.009 |
| GGT, ×ULN | 3.1 (2.2–5.0) | 2.9 (1.6–4.5) | 0.187 |
| Total bilirubin, ×ULN | 6.4 (3.5–12.6) | 5.0 (1.6–10.3) | 0.105 |
| <2 × ULN, n (%) | 6 (8.7) | 25 (26.3) | 0.004 |
| ≥2 × ULN, n (%) | 63 (91.3) | 70 (73.7) | |
| INR† | 1.04 (0.96–1.23) | 1.03 (0.93–1.17) | 0.495 |
| Serum IgG, mg/dL | 1475 (1285–1845) | 1320 (1190–1550) | 0.006 |
| Serum IgA, mg/dL | 267 (216–351) | 241 (196–339) | 0.095 |
| Serum IgM, mg/dL | 254 (158–375) | 195 (137–282) | 0.027 |
| Serum IgE, IU/mL | 82 (30–202) | 42 (17–123) | 0.020 |
| HEV genotype, n | 19 | 23 | |
| 3b/4a/4b/4d/4 h/4i, n | 0/1/3/14/1/0 | 1/0/6/15/0/1 | 0.543 |
| Follow-up parameters, median (IQR)‡ | |||
| ALT, ×ULN | 0.3 (0.2–0.4) | 0.3 (0.3–0.5) | 0.078 |
| AST, ×ULN | 0.6 (0.5–0.7) | 0.6 (0.5–0.7) | 0.109 |
| ALP, ×ULN | 0.7 (0.5–0.8) | 0.6 (0.5–0.7) | 0.748 |
| GGT, ×ULN | 0.5 (0.3–0.7) | 0.5 (0.3–0.8) | 0.748 |
| Total bilirubin, ×ULN | 0.8 (0.6–0.9) | 0.8 (0.7–1.0) | 0.142 |
†Two patients were excluded because of taking anticoagulant warfarin
‡Two patients were excluded due to death
ALT alanine aminotransferase, ALP alkaline phosphatase, AST aspartate aminotransferase, HEV hepatitis E virus, Ig immunoglobulin, INR International Normalized Ratio, IQR interquartile range, GGT gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase, ULN upper limit of normal