Table 2.
Baseline characteristics of COVID-19 patients, stratified by both COVID-19 severity and MAFLD status.
| With MAFLD (n = 46) | Without MAFLD (n = 121) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Non-severe COVID-19 (n = 33) | SevereCOVID-19 (n = 13) | P value | Non-severe COVID-19 (n = 102) | SevereCOVID-19 (n = 19) | P value | |
| Demographics | ||||||
| Age, years | 46.8 ± 14.1 | 50.2 ± 13.8 | 0.453 | 48.3 ± 13.3 | 58.2 ± 8.6 | 0.003 |
| Male sex, n (%) | 12 (36.4%) | 7 (53.8%) | 0.278 | 39 (38.2%) | 13 (68.4%) | 0.015 |
| Coexisting disorders | ||||||
| Type 2 diabetes, n (%) | 9 (27.3%) | 4 (30.8%) | 0.813 | 10 (9.8%) | 10 (52.6%) | <0.001 |
| Hypertension, n (%) | 8 (24.2%) | 5 (38.5%) | 0.335 | 15 (14.7%) | 7 (36.8%) | 0.022 |
| BMI ≥23 kg/m2, n (%) | 29 (87.9%) | 11 (84.6%) | 0.767 | 60 (58.8%) | 15 (83.3%) | 0.048 |
| Dyslipidemia, n (%) | 31 (93.9%) | 12 (92.3%) | 0.840 | 74 (72.5%) | 11 (57.9%) | 0.200 |
| Laboratory parameters | ||||||
| WBC, x109/L | 5.0 (3.9–6.4) | 5.4 (4.8–7.2) | 0.183 | 4.7 (3.7–5.9) | 7.4 (5.4–10.2) | <0.001 |
| Lymphocyte count, x109/L | 1.3 (0.9–1.7) | 1.1 (0.9–1.2) | 0.094 | 1.2 (0.9–1.6) | 0.7 (0.5–0.8) | <0.001 |
| NLR | 2.5 (1.6–3.7) | 10.2 (7.1–16.8) | <0.001 | 2.1 (1.6–3.1) | 3.7 (3.2–4.4) | 0.012 |
| C-reactive protein, mg/L | 9.7 (3.1–24.5) | 47.6 (18.9–74.0) | 0.001 | 9.2 (2.0–24.9) | 32.0 (14.8–67.8) | <0.001 |
| Procalcitonin, ng/mL | 0.01 (0.01–0.04) | 0.06 (0.04–0.08) | 0.013 | 0.01 (0.01–0.04) | 0.05 (0.04–0.07) | <0.001 |
| D-dimer, mg/L | 0.23 (0.12–0.34) | 0.59 (0.47–1.21) | 0.002 | 0.22 (0.13–0.30) | 0.68 (0.55–0.83) | <0.001 |
| ALT, U/L | 30.0 (20.0–49.0) | 22.0 (20.0–24.0) | 0.241 | 20.0 (15.0–27.8) | 26.0 (21.5–41.5) | 0.009 |
| AST, U/L | 27.0 (19.0–35.0) | 28.0 (25.0–34.0) | 0.329 | 22.0 (17.0–28.0) | 32.0 (21.5–40.5) | 0.003 |
| GGT, U/L | 30.0 (20.0–51.0) | 31.0 (24.0–47.0) | 0.413 | 22.0 (15.2–32.8) | 43.0 (27.5–84.5) | <0.001 |
| TBIL, μmol/L | 10.0 (7.1–13.6) | 13.2 (9.3–14.0) | 0.121 | 9.4 (6.4–13.6) | 12.0 (9.2–18.5) | 0.033 |
| Cytokines | ||||||
| IL-2, pg/mL | 0.9 (0.5–1.6) | 0.6 (0.5–1.1) | 0.508 | 0.9 (0.5–1.5) | 0.9 (0.7–1.0) | 0.568 |
| IL-4, pg/mL | 1.0 (1.0–2.0) | 1.0 (0.7–1.7) | 0.267 | 1.4 (1.0–2.1) | 1.2 (0.6–1.7) | 0.058 |
| IL-6, pg/mL | 6.4 (2.9–9.8) | 26.3 (12.9–45.4) | <0.001 | 4.6 (2.3–10.2) | 4.9 (3.3–31.9) | 0.043 |
| IL-10, pg/mL | 2.2 (1.0–4.2) | 6.5 (4.3–12.5) | <0.001 | 2.3 (1.0–4.0) | 4.8 (3.2–7.0) | <0.001 |
| TNF-α, pg/mL | 1.0 (1.0–1.5) | 0.7 (0.2–1.4) | 0.120 | 1.2 (1.0–1.6) | 0.6 (0.2–1.5) | 0.007 |
| IFN-γ, pg/mL | 1.0 (1.0–1.6) | 1.4 (0.6–2.3) | 0.834 | 1.0 (1.0–1.5) | 1.3 (0.8–1.8) | 0.439 |
| Time from symptom onset to hospital admission, days | 8.0 (4.0–12.0) | 7.0 (5.5–9.5) | 0.922 | 9.0 (4.0–13.0) | 8.0 (5.0–10.0) | 0.778 |
Data are expressed as means ± SD, medians (IQR) and number (percentages).
ALT, alanine aminotransferase; AST, aspartate transaminase; BMI, body mass index; GGT, gamma glutamyl-transpeptidase; IFN-γ, interferon gamma; IL, interleukin; MAFLD, metabolic associated fatty liver disease; NLR, Neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio; TBIL, total bilirubin; TNF-α, tumor necrosis factor-α; WBC, white blood cell.
Bold values represent statistical significant P values.