Table 2.
Subgroup analyses of the association between NAFLD and risk of CKD.
| Subgroup | No. studies | RR (95% CI) | I2/p * |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ethnicity | |||
| Asians | 4 | 1.27 (1.16, 1.38) | 92.9%/<0.001 |
| Non-Asians | 7 | 1.56 (1.46, 1.66) | |
| Sex | |||
| Male | 4 | 1.55 (1.40, 1.71) | 0%/0.55 |
| Female | 3 | 1.48 (1.31, 1.67) | |
| Study design | |||
| Prospective cohort | 6 | 1.31 (1.11, 1.54) | 0%/0.33 |
| Retrospective cohort | 5 | 1.44 (1.30, 1.59) | |
| Participant’s average age | |||
| <60 years | 9 | 1.39 (1.26, 1.53) | 79.1%/0.03 |
| ⩾60 years | 2 | 0.81 (0.51, 1.30) | |
| Methods for defining NAFLD | |||
| Ultrasonography | 6 | 1.31 (1.17, 1.48) | 48.9%/0.1 |
| Other methods | 5 | 1.46 (1.33, 1.62) | |
| Community-based population | |||
| Yes | 7 | 1.38 (1.25, 1.53) | 0%/0.74 |
| No | 4 | 1.44 (1.14, 1.83) | |
| Presence of diabetes | |||
| Yes | 6 | 1.27 (1.07, 1.51) | 51.1%/0.15 |
| No | 2 | 1.60 (1.23, 2.07) | |
| Sample | |||
| <10,000 | 7 | 1.34 (1.14, 1.57) | 0%/0.50 |
| ⩾10,000 | 4 | 1.43 (1.28, 1.58) | |
| Follow-up duration | |||
| <10 years | 8 | 1.39 (1.21, 1.60) | 0%/0.68 |
| ⩾10 years | 3 | 1.31 (1.03, 1.67) | |
| Adjustment of confounders | |||
| Adequate $ | 7 | 1.32 (1.13, 1.54) | 78.8%/0.03 |
| Inadequate | 4 | 1.58 (1.51, 1.65) | |
| Severity of NAFLD | |||
| More severe | 4 | 1.57 (1.37, 1.78) | 82.5%/0.02 |
| Less severe | 4 | 1.22 (1.04, 1.43) | |
| Severe steatosis | |||
| Yes | 1 | 1.46 (1.19, 1.79) | 64.0%/0.10 |
| No | 1 | 1.17 (1.00, 1.37) | |
| Advanced fibrosis | |||
| Yes | 3 | 1.63 (1.36, 1.96) | 75.3%/0.04 |
| No | 3 | 1.23 (1.00, 1.51) | |
*
For heterogeneity among subgroups.
$
Adequate adjustment denoted adjustment of at least six of eight confounders including sex, age, smoking, hypertension or blood pressure or antihypertensive treatment, BMI or other measure of overweight/obesity, cholesterol, blood glucose or diabetes, and baseline eGFR.
BMI, body mass index; CI, confidence interval; CKD, chronic kidney disease; eGFR, estimated glomerular filtration rate; NAFLD, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease; RR, relative risk.