Table 2. Meta regression analysis of possible sources of heterogeneity in NAFLD vs. control group (18 studies).

Effect size	Coefficient	Standard error	t	p>| t |	95% CI
Diagnosis methods	0.403	0.325	−1.13	0.276	0.073–2.225
Ethnicity	0.175	0.223	−1.58	0.133	0.175–1.287
Types of study design	1.527	1.318	0.49	0.631	0.245–9.513
Mean age (30–40, 40–50, ≥50)	0.814	0.346	−0.48	0.635	0.331–2.003
Mean BMI (>30)	0.467	0.246	−1.44	0.168	0.153–1.428
Biopsy on controls	0.367	0.393	−0.94	0.363	0.038–3.552
NOS score	1.996	0.783	1.76	0.097	0.869–4.586