Table 4.
Associations with ALT, AST and FIB-4, respectively, among study participants with chronic HBV over four years of follow-up.
| ALT (N=236) Adjusted Mean Ratio (95%CI)a |
P-value | AST (N=236) Adjusted Mean Ratio (95%CI)a |
P-value | FIB-4 (N=213) Adjusted Mean Ratio (95%CI)a |
P-value | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fatty liver disease status | ||||||
| Steatosis vs neither | 1.12 (0.98, 1.29) | 0.10 | 0.99 (0.89, 1.11) | 0.93 | 1.03 (0.83, 1.27) | 0.92 |
| Steatohepatitis vs neither | 1.39 (1.20, 1.62) | <0.001 | 1.16 (1.03, 1.31) | 0.02 | 1.25 (1.00, 1.56) | 0.04 |
| Steatohepatitis vs steatosis | 1.24 (1.04, 1.49) | 0.02 | 1.17 (1.01, 1.35) | 0.04 | 1.22 (0.92, 1.60) | 0.10 |
| Age, per 10 years | 0.97 (0.92, 1.01) | 0.12 | 1.04 (1.00, 1.07) | 0.052 | - | |
| Sex (ref=Female) | <0.001 | <0.001 | 0.04 | |||
| Male | 1.48 (1.33, 1.64) | 1.23 (1.14, 1.34) | 1.18 (1.01, 1.38) | |||
| Past year alcohol use (ref=None/minimal) | 0.42 | 0.049 | 0.07 | |||
| Low-risk | 0.95 (0.86, 1.06) | 0.94 (0.87, 1.02) | 0.90 (0.81, 0.99) | |||
| At-risk | 1.06 (0.90, 1.25) | 1.11 (0.98, 1.27) | 1.00 (0.86, 1.17) | |||
| HBV DNA, per log10 IU/mL | 1.17 (1.15, 1.20) | <0.001 | 1.14 (1.12, 1.16) | <0.001 | 1.07 (1.05, 1.09) | <0.001 |
| Currently on HBV therapy (ref=No) | <0.001 | <0.001 | 0.001 | |||
| Yesa | 1.23 (1.10, 1.37) | 1.27 (1.16, 1.39) | 1.20 (1.07, 1.33) | |||
Abbreviations: ALT, Alanine aminotransferase; AST, aspartate aminotransferase; Fibrosis-4 index (FIB-4).
Each model was adjusted for time since biopsy (0-192 weeks) and the variables shown in the table. 473 of 1374 measurements of ALT and AST (i.e. observations) were while on treatment. To meet the normality assumption, the log 2 scale was used for the outcomes. Transformed results are presented as mean ratios (factor by which the average value of the outcome differs for the comparator vs. the reference) rather than differences. A mean ratio of 1.40 for steatohepatitis versus no FLD indicates that someone with steatohepatitis has, on average, 1.4 times higher ALT compared to someone without FLD.