Table 5 Comparison of the clinical characteristics of chronic hepatitis C patients with or without hepatic steatosis (≥5%)
|  |  | Steatosis (<5%) |  |  | Steatosis (≥5%) |  |  |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|  |  | n = 59 |  |  | n = 18 |  |  |
Factor | Mean or number | Maximum | Minimum | Mean or number | Maximum | Minimum | P value* |
Age (years) | 55.2 | 76 | 20 | 59.1 | 69 | 33 | 0.257 |
Sex (male/female) | 26/33 | Â | Â | 5/13 | Â | Â | 0.217 |
Body mass index (kg/m2) | 22.3 | 30.1 | 16.4 | 23.8 | 32.2 | 19.9 | 0.800 |
Platelet count (×104/μl) | 18.3 | 41.9 | 7.4 | 17.1 | 36.2 | 5.4 | 0.434 |
Total cholesterol (mg/dl) | 171.4 | 295 | 84 | 168.4 | 222 | 114 | 0.814 |
Albumin (g/dl) | 4.3 | 5.1 | 3.3 | 4.0 | 4.9 | 2.9 | 0.023 |
ALT (IU/l) | 63.1 | 244 | 13 | 69.1 | 191 | 20 | 0.125 |
γ-GTP (IU/l) | 40.6 | 239 | 12 | 81.4 | 468 | 12 | 0.010 |
Diabetes (absent/present) | 50/9 | Â | Â | 10/8 | Â | Â | 0.009 |
Fasting plasma glucose (mg/dl) | 95.9 | 196 | 72 | 100.8 | 150 | 80 | 0.145 |
Hemoglobin A1c (%) | 5.3 (n = 57) | 7.6 | 4.6 | 5.6 | 7.1 | 4.7 | 0.084 |
Leptin (ng/ml) | 7.0 | 21.8 | 1.0 | 9.6 | 17.3 | 3.5 | 0.006 |
Adiponectin (ng/ml) | 9.3 | 27.3 | 1.1 | 8 | 26.1 | 1.7 | 0.493 |
Resistin (ng/ml) | 8.1 | 27.6 | 2.5 | 9.9 | 17.5 | 4 | 0.042 |
AIM (μg/ml) | 1.37 | 4.56 | 0.41 | 1.43 | 6.44 | 0.72 | 0.290 |
Hyaluronic acid (ng/ml) | 71.9 (n = 57) | 292.7 | 10 | 171.6 | 636.0 | 11.2 | 0.021 |