Inflammatory parameters and liver fibrosis in patients with steatosis: A cross-sectional analysis

Table 1 Patient characteristics, n (%)/mean ± SD

	No fibrosis	Fibrosis	P value
Age in years at screening	54.460 ± 16.244	56.810 ± 14.649	0.0011
Body mass index (kg/m2)	32.702 ± 6.335	38.237 ± 9.116	0.0011
Sex			0.3552
Female	1740 (53.00)	520 (54.70)
Male	1541 (47.00)	430 (45.30)
Body mass index category			0.0012
Underweight	4 (0.20)	0 (0.00)
Eutrophic	207 (7.90)	19 (3.00)
Overweight	826 (31.50)	83 (13.10)
Grade I obese	815 (31.10)	143 (22.60)
Grade II obese	457 (17.40)	153 (24.20)
Grade III obese	315 (12.00)	235 (37.10)
Race/Hispanic origin			0.0172
Mexican American	441 (16.80)	100 (15.80)
Other Hispanic	288 (11.00)	66 (10.40)
Non-Hispanic White	943 (35.90)	241 (38.00)
Non-Hispanic Black	534 (20.30)	141 (22.20)
Other race/multi-racial	424 (16.10)	86 (13.60)

¹Equal variances not assumed, Mann-Whitney test used.

²χ² test.

Table 2 Blood biomarkers

	No fibrosis				Fibrosis		P value1
	n	Mean	SD	n	Mean	SD
White blood cell count (× 103 cells/uL)	3274	7.45	2.1	945	7.73	2.2	0.001
Monocyte number (× 103 cells/uL)	3274	0.59	0.2	945	0.60	0.2	0.065
Lymphocyte number (× 103 cells/uL)	3274	2.23	0.8	945	2.23	0.8	0.898
Segmented neutrophils num (× 103 cells/uL)	3274	4.38	1.6	945	4.63	1.6	0.001
Eosinophils number (× 103 cells/uL)	3274	0.21	0.2	945	0.21	0.1	0.177
Basophils number (× 103 cells/uL)	3274	0.06	0.1	945	0.07	0.1	0.001
Red blood cell count (million cells/uL)	3274	4.79	0.5	945	4.81	0.5	0.255
Hemoglobin (g/dL)	3274	14.20	1.5	945	14.19	1.6	0.842
Hematocrit (%)	3274	42.12	4.0	945	42.15	4.3	0.834
Platelet count (× 103 cells/uL)2	3274	255.34	66.0	945	243.12	72.9	0.001
Mean platelet volume (fL)	3274	8.21	0.9	945	8.31	0.9	0.003
Nucleated red blood cells	3272	0.08	0.1	945	0.08	0.1	0.427
hs-CRP (mg/L)2	3274	4.71	7.8	945	6.20	9.6	0.001
Albumin, refrigerated serum (g/dL)	2019	4.05	0.3	523	3.96	0.3	0.001
Glycohemoglobin (%)2	3273	6.04	1.2	945	6.54	1.6	0.001
Fasting Glucose (mg/dL)2	1689	119.39	40.4	466	137.44	54.7	0.001
Direct HDL-cholesterol (mg/dL)	3256	49.18	13.5	937	47.62	14.7	0.002
Insulin (U/mL)2	1677	18.02	19.9	460	26.38	27.3	0.001
Total cholesterol (mg/dL)	3256	191.34	42.3	937	182.27	42.9	0.001
NLR	3274	2.16	1.2	945	2.31	1.2	0.001
AISI	3274	337.30	274.2	945	353.04	311.7	0.132
SIRI	3274	1.30	0.9	945	1.43	1.1	0.001
PNI	2019	40.54	3.2	945	39.62	3.4	0.001
SII	3274	554.01	351.0	945	560.89	350.1	0.595

¹Student's t test.

²Equal variances not assumed, Mann-Whitney test used.

hs-CRP: High-sensitivity C-reactive protein; NLR: Neutrophile to lymphocyte ratio; AISI: Aggregate index of systemic inflammation; SIRI: Systemic inflammation response index; PNI: Prognostic nutritional index; SII: Systemic immune-inflammation index; HDL: High-density lipoprotein.

Table 3 Logistic regression parameters

	Standard model				Multivariate model1
	P value	Odds ratio	95%CI		P value	Odds ratio	95%CI
			Lower	Upper			Lower	Upper
NLR	0.001	1.104	1.042	1.169	0.216	1.041	0.977	1.110
AISI	0.134	1.000	1.000	1.000	0.481	1.000	1.000	1.000
SIRI	0.001	1.128	1.053	1.209	0.174	1.055	0.977	1.138
PNI	0.000	0.918	0.891	0.946	0.068	1.033	0.998	1.069
SII	0.595	1.000	1.000	1.000	0.080	1.000	1.000	1.000
hs-CRP (mg/L)	0.000	1.018	1.010	1.026	0.170	0.993	0.984	1.003

¹Variable(s) included: Age, body mass index, glycohemoglobin, total cholesterol.

NLR: Neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio; AISI: Aggregate index of systemic inflammation; SIRI: Systemic inflammation response index; PNI: Prognostic Nutritional Index; SII: Systemic immune-inflammation index; hs-CRP: Hight sensitive C-reactive protein.

Table 4 Area under the curve

Test result variable(s)	AUROC	SE	P value	Asymptotic 95%CI		Cutt off	Sensitivity	Specificity	Youden index
				Lower bound	Upper bound
NLR	0.558	0.014	0.001	0.53	0.586	1.95	0.57	0.46	0.114
AISI	0.531	0.014	0.031	0.503	0.559	349.80	0.39	0.31	0.076
SIRI	0.563	0.014	0.001	0.536	0.591	1.39	0.42	0.32	0.103
PNI	0.422	0.014	0.001	0.394	0.45	544.73	0.42	0.37	0.047
SII	0.513	0.014	0.342	0.485	0.541	25.02	1.00	1.00	0.000
hs-CRP (mg/L)	0.608	0.014	0.001	0.581	0.635	2.56	0.68	0.52	0.166

NLR: Neutrophile to lymphocyte ratio; AISI: Aggregate index of systemic inflammation; SIRI: Systemic inflammation response index; PNI: Prognostic nutritional index; SII: Systemic immune-inflammation index; hs-CRP: Hight sensitive C-reactive protein; AUROC: Area under the receiver operating characteristic curve.