Table 1.
Baseline characteristics of the study population
| Characteristics | Non-MAFLD (n=2411) | MAFLD (n=1262) | P value |
| Age (year) | 48.7±9.9 | 50.5±8.9 | <0.001* |
| WC (cm) | 83.2±8.2 | 92.7±7.6 | <0.001* |
| BMI (kg/m2) | 23.6±2.7 | 26.6±2.7 | <0.001* |
| SBP (mm Hg) | 125±18 | 135±17 | <0.001* |
| DBP (mm Hg) | 76±11 | 83±10 | <0.001* |
| ALT (U/L) | 16 (12–23) | 26 (19–38) | <0.001# |
| AST (U/L) | 19 (17–23) | 22 (18–27) | <0.001# |
| GGT (U/L) | 20 (14–34) | 37 (24–58) | <0.001# |
| TB (μmol/L) | 11 (8–14) | 12 (9–15) | <0.001# |
| TG (mmol/L) | 1.17 (0.87–1.68) | 1.96 (1.43–2.87) | <0.001# |
| TC (mmol/L) | 4.67 (4.13–5.28) | 4.94 (4.38–5.54) | <0.001# |
| HDL-C (mmol/L) | 1.28 (1.07–1.53) | 1.05 (0.90–1.23) | <0.001# |
| LDL-C (mmol/L) | 2.66 (2.23–3.16) | 2.84 (2.37–3.35) | <0.001# |
| Cr (μmol/L) | 71 (59–81) | 75 (63–83) | <0.001# |
| UA (μmol/L) | 311 (257–372) | 379 (321–433) | <0.001# |
| Glu (mmol/L) | 4.89±0.90 | 5.50±1.55 | <0.001* |
| HbA1c (%) | 5.5 (5.3–5.7) | 5.7 (5.4–6.1) | <0.001# |
| hsCRP (mg/L) | 1.0 (0.47–1.97) | 1.5 (0.8–2.77) | <0.001# |
| INS (μU/mL) | 6.5 (4.7–9.1) | 10.8 (7.8–14.4) | <0.001# |
| HOMA-IR | 1.39 (0.98–1.99) | 2.52 (1.78–3.57) | <0.001# |
| C3 (mg/dL) | 103 (92–115) | 118 (107–129) | <0.001# |
| Smoke, n (%) | 552 (22.9) | 349 (27.7) | 0.001$ |
| Drinking, n (%) | 427 (17.7) | 308 (24.4) | <0.001$ |
| Female, n (%) | 1087 (45.1) | 331 (26.2) | <0.001$ |
| Physical exercise, n (%) | 832 (34.5) | 346 (27.4) | <0.001$ |
| BMI >23, n (%) | 1287 (53.4) | 1178 (93.3) | <0.001$ |
| Diabetes, n (%) | 128 (5.3) | 205 (16.2) | <0.001$ |
Continuous variables were presented as mean±SD or median (25th–75th percentile). The statistical significance of differences between the non-MAFLD group and MAFLD group were analysed by Student’s t-test (*), the Mann-Whitney U test (#) or the Χ2 test ($).
ALT, alanine aminotransferase; AST, aspartate aminotransferase; BMI, body mass index; C3, complement C3; Cr, creatinine; DBP, diastolic blood pressure; GGT, γ-glutamyl transpeptidase; Glu, glucose; HbA1c, glycosylated haemoglobin A1c; HDL-C, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol; HOMA-IR, homoeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance; hsCRP, High sensitivity C reactive protein; INS, insulin; LDL-C, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol; MAFLD, metabolic associated fatty liver disease; SBP, systolic blood pressure; TB, total bilirubin; TC, total cholesterol; TG, triglyceride; UA, uric acid; WC, waist circumference.