TABLE 1.
Patient characteristics
| Baseline (n=82) | Follow-up (n=82) | p | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Age (years) | 47.3 (±11.2) | 64.5 (±10.7) | <0.01 |
| Sex (% male) | 72 (n=59) | 72 (n=59) | NA |
| BMI (kg/m2) | 28.1 (±3.9) | 29.0 (±4.4) | 0.02 |
| Weight change (kg)a | NA | 2.0 (±9.3) | NA |
| Diagnosis of T2DM (%) | 12.2 (n=10) | 59.8 (n=49) | <0.05 |
| Hypertension (%) | 63.4 (n=52) | 87.8 (n=72) | <0.05 |
| ALT (U/L) | 83.4 (±48.0) | 54.6 (±36.0) | <0.01 |
| AST (U/L) | 45.6 (±21.6) | 40.2 (±19.8) | 0.07 |
| AST/ALT ratio | 0.6 (±0.2) | 0.9 (±0.4) | <0.01 |
| ALP (U/L) | 66.0 (±36.0) | 72.0 (±48.0) | 0.05 |
| Bilirubin (mg/dL) | 0.64 (±0.33) | 0.74 (±0.30) | 0.01 |
| Albumin (g/L) | 41.6 (±3.4) | 40.4 (±4.1) | 0.03 |
| Hemoglobin (g/L) | 146.9 (±9.9) | 144.7 (±13.7) | 0.96 |
| Platelet count (109/L) | 223.6 (±53.1) | 227.6 (±63.9) | 0.96 |
| Prothrombin (INR) | 1.0 (±0.1) | 1.0 (±0.1) | <0.01 |
| Creatinine (mg/dL) | 1.01 (±0.22) | 1.01 (±0.25) | 0.97 |
| Ferritin (µg/L) | 210.9 (±171.0) | 196.7 (±170.9) | 0.47 |
| Fasting glucose (mg/dL) | 108.0 (±37.8) | 135.0 (±43.2) | <0.01 |
| HOMA-IR | NA | 8.56 (±13.04) | NA |
| Fibrosis stage (IQR) | 1 (0–2) | 1.5 (0–3) | <0.001 |
| Steatosis grade (IQR) | 2 (1–3) | 2 (1–2) | 0.15 |
| Lobular inflammation (IQR) | 0 | 0 | 0.03 |
| Ballooning (IQR) | 0 | 0 (0–0.75) | 0.26 |
| NASH (%) | 9.0 (n=7) | 8.3 (n=6) | 0.31 |
aWeight change between baseline and follow-up.
Abbreviations: NA indicates not applicable; BMI, body mass index; T2DM, type 2 diabetes mellitus; ALT, alanine aminotransferase; AST, aspartate aminotransferase; AST/ALT ratio; aspartate aminotransferase/alanine aminotransferase ratio; ALP, alkaline phosphatase; HOMA-IR, Homeostatic Model Assessment for Insulin Resistance; INR, international normalized ratio.
Bold values indicate statistical significance at the p < 0.05 level.