Factors associated with significant liver fibrosis assessed using transient elastography in general population

Table 1 Baseline characteristics of study population (n = 159)

Variables	Values
Demographic variables
Age, yr	56.0 ± 10.6
Male gender	87 (54.7)
Body mass index, kg/m2	24.3 ± 3.1
Diabetes mellitus	19 (11.9)
Hypertension	40 (25.2)
Daily alcohol intake, mg	15.4 ± 30.5
Laboratory variables
Aspartate aminotransferase, IU/L	23.3 ± 8.5
Alanine aminotransferase, IU/L	23.1 ± 12.2
Platelet count, 109/L	235.5 ± 57.9
Fasting plasma glucose, mg/dL	100.5 ± 24.5
HOMA-IR	1.84 ± 1.35
HbA1c, %	6.0 ± 0.7
Imaging variables
Severe fatty liver on sonography	30 (18.9)
Carotid sonography
Intimal media thickness, mm	0.75 ± 0.57
Presence of carotid plaque	34 (21.4)
Calcified carotid plaque, n	0.48 ± 1.13
Computed tomography
Visceral fat area, cm2	112.4 ± 54.8
Transient elastography
Controlled attenuation parameter, dB/m	248.3 ± 44.4
Interquartile rangeCAP, dB/m	35.91 ± 13.56
Interquartile range/medianCAP	0.16 ± 0.06
Liver stiffness value, kPa	4.7 ± 2.2
Interquartile rangeLS, kPa	0.52 ± 0.21
Interquartile range/medianLS	0.13 ± 0.06

Values are expressed as the mean ± SD (range) or n (%). HOMA-IR: Homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance; HbA1c: Glycated hemoglobin; CAP: Controlled attenuation parameter; LS: Liver stiffness.

Table 2 Characteristics of patients with significant fibrosis

No.	Age (yr)	Gender	BMI (kg/m2)	Alcohol intake (g/d)	ALT (IU/L)	CAP (dB/m)	Degree of fatty liver on US	LS value (kPa)
1	47	F	24.7	0	11.0	259	Normal	7.1
2	69	F	28.1	0	46.0	348	Moderate	7.1
3	52	F	25.9	23	43.0	212	Mild	7.2
4	77	M	27.9	0	13.0	185	Normal	7.6
5	53	M	30.2	29	70.0	324	Moderate	7.6
6	68	M	26.5	38	42.0	274	Mild	7.8
7	77	M	33.9	0	35.0	281	Moderate	7.8
8	56	M	23.1	11	22.0	258	Mild	7.9
9	52	M	30.3	5	41.0	287	Mild	8.0
10	67	M	25.7	0	24.0	259	Mild	14.3
11	77	F	26.6	0	44.0	247	Mild	25.7

BMI: Body mass index; ALT: Alanine aminotransferase; CAP: Controlled attenuation parameter; US: Ultrasound; LS: Liver stiffness.

Table 3 Comparison between patients with and without significant liver fibrosis (> 7 kPa)

Variables	Patients without significant fibrosis [n = 148 (93.1%), LS value ≤7 kPa]	Patients with significant fibrosis [n = 11 (6.9%), LS value > 7 kPa]	P value
Age, yr	55.5 ± 10.4	63.2 ± 11.5	NS
Male gender	80 (54.1)	7 (63.6)	NS
Body mass index, kg/m2	24.1 ± 3.0	27.5 ± 3.0	0.001
Diabetes mellitus	17 (11.5)	2 (18.2)	NS
Hypertension	38 (25.7)	2 (18.2)	NS
Daily alcohol intake, mg	16.2 ± 31.7	11.0 ± 16.4	NS
Alanine aminotransferase, IU/L	22.2 ± 11.4	32.3 ± 17.1	0.024
Platelet count, 109/L	235.6 ± 55.5	234.2 ± 92.0	NS
Fasting plasma glucose, mg/dL	99.7 ± 24.3	106.1 ± 24.9	NS
HOMA-IR	1.7 ± 1.2	2.9 ± 2.0	0.034
HbA1c, %	6.0 ± 0.7	6.2 ± 0.6	NS
Presence of fatty liver on Sonography, n	53 (35.8%)	9 (81.8%)	0.004
Intimal media thickness, mm	0.7 ± 0.2	1.4 ± 2.1	0.011
Presence of carotid plaque	31 (20.9)	3 (27.3)	NS
Calcified carotid plaque, n	0.4 ± 1.0	1.5 ± 1.8	0.019
Visceral fat area, cm2	107.2 ± 47.7	171.5 ± 93.0	0.002
Controlled attenuation parameter, dB/m	246.4 ± 43.8	266.7 ± 45.6	NS

Values are expressed as the mean ± SD (range), median (range), or n (%). NS: Not significant; LS: Liver stiffness; HOMA-IR: Homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance; HbA1c: Glycated hemoglobin.

Table 4 Factors associated with significant liver fibrosis (> 7 kPa)

Variable	Univariate	Multivariate
	P value	Odds ratio	95%CI	P value
Age, yr	0.021	1.065	0.981-1.156	NS
Body mass index, kg/m2	0.001	1.487	1.009-2.193	0.045
Alanine aminotransferase, IU/L	0.010	1.078	1.015-1.145	0.014
HOMA-IR	0.013	0.950	0.555-1.626	NS
Visceral fat area, cm2	0.004	0.995	0.979-1.011	NS
Intimal media thickness, mm	0.195	3.244	1.140-9.234	0.027
Calcified carotid plaque, n	0.008	1.787	1.055-3.026	0.031

HOMA-IR: Homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance; NS: Not significant.