Table 1 Comparison of baseline characteristics between treatment groups

Age (y)

57 ± 8

58 ± 7

0.96

Gender (male/female)^b

15/4

13/3

0.91

Duration NAFLD (y)^b

0.25 IQR 2.0

1.0 IQR 1.5

0.27

No. of T2DM (or IFG)^b

15

11

0.61

No. of smokers^b

2

2

0.94

Alcohol (units/wk)^b

1 IQR 8

6 IQR 8

0.10

BMI (kg/m²)^b

31.2 IQR 9.1

31.9 IQR 4.0

0.57

Waist circumference (cm)

112.2 ± 14.3

111.2 ± 10.7

0.81

Systolic BP (mmHg)

133 ± 13

135 ± 12

0.56

Diastolic BP (mmHg)

82 ± 8

82 ± 7

0.91

Total cholesterol (mmol/l)

4.51 ± 1.38

4.31 ± 0.85

0.61

HDL (mmol/l)^b

0.98 IQR 0.35

0.95 IQR 0.54

0.66

LDL (mmo/l)

2.58 ± 1.18

2.42 ± 0.70

0.64

Triglycerides (mmol/l)^b

1.80 IQR 0.45

1.80 IQR 1.27

0.73

HbA1c (mmol/mol)^b

54 IQR 17

47 IQR 19

0.23

HOMA-IR^b

1.6 IQR 1.7

3.0 IQR 1.8

0.04^a

ALT (iu/L)^b

43 IQR 56

51 IQR 30

0.96

AST (iu/L)

40 ± 16

40 ± 15

0.99