Table 1.
Baseline characteristics, overall and by NAFLD category, among year 25 CARDIA participants
| Variable | Overall (n = 2809) | Liver attenuation | P | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No NAFLD | Mild NAFLD | Severe NAFLD | |||
| > 51 HU (n = 2136) | > 40–51 HU (n = 392) | ≤ 40 HU (n = 281) | |||
| Liver attenuation, HU, median (IQR) | 57.7 (51.5–62.3) | 59.9 (56.3–64.0) | 47.3 (44.3–49.4) | 31.3 (23.6–36.8) | < .001a |
| Socio-demographics | |||||
| Age, year, mean ± SD | 50.1 ± 3.6 | 50.0 ± 3.7 | 50.3 ± 3.6 | 50.5 ± 3.6 | .034 |
| Male, n (%) | 1198 (43) | 823 (39) | 219 (56) | 156 (56) | < .001 |
| Black, n (%) | 1344 (48) | 1038 (49) | 190 (49) | 116 (41) | .067 |
| Education, year, mean ± SD | 15.1 ± 2.7 | 15.1 ± 2.7 | 14.8 ± 2.6 | 15.0 ± 2.7 | .040 |
| CVD risk factors | |||||
| Personal CVD history, n (%) | 402 (14) | 303 (14) | 55 (14) | 44 (16) | .79 |
| Hypertension, n (%) | 971 (35) | 632 (30) | 175 (45) | 164 (58) | < .001 |
| Smoking, n (%) | .010 | ||||
| Never | 1749 (62) | 1363 (65) | 219 (56) | 167 (60) | |
| Past | 607 (22) | 435 (21) | 99 (25) | 73 (26) | |
| Current | 420 (15) | 311 (15) | 71 (18) | 38 (14) | |
| Diabetes mellitus, n (%) | 391 (14) | 187 (9) | 82 (21) | 122 (43) | < .001 |
| Hypercholesterolemia, n (%) | 668 (24) | 449 (21) | 122 (31) | 97 (35) | < .001 |
| Hypertriglyceridemia, n (%) | 545 (20) | 282 (13) | 132 (34) | 131 (47) | < 0.001 |
| Obesity, n (%) | 1257 (45) | 746 (35) | 285 (73) | 226 (80) | < .001 |
| CT fat measures | |||||
| TAAT, cm3, mean ± SD | 489 ± 217 | 442 ± 201 | 613 ± 194 | 678 ± 191 | < .001 |
| SAT, cm3, mean ± SD | 340 ± 170 | 314 ± 165 | 413 ± 161 | 430 ± 154 | < .001 |
| VAT, cm3, mean ± SD | 131 ± 73 | 111 ± 59 | 176 ± 69 | 222 ± 83 | < .001 |
| Cognitive test scores | |||||
| DSST, symbols, mean ± SD | 70.0 ± 16.0 | 70.6 ± 16.3 | 67.6 ± 15.6 | 68.9 ± 14.4 | .002 |
| RAVLT, words, mean ± SD | 8.3 ± 3.3 | 8.4 ± 3.3 | 7.9 ± 3.1 | 8.0 ± 3.1 | .003 |
| Stroop, seconds plus errors, mean ± SD | 22.9 ± 10.8 | 22.7 ± 10.7 | 24.3 ± 11.6 | 22.9 ± 10.2 | .028 |
CVD, cardiovascular disease; DSST, digit symbol substitution test; HU, Hounsfield Unit; NAFLD, metabolic associated fatty liver disease; RAVLT, Rey auditory verbal learning test; SAT, subcutaneous adipose tissue; SD, standard deviation; TAAT, total abdomen adipose tissue; VAT, visceral adipose tissue
aKruskal Wallis Test