Comparative study of clinicopathological features, and risk factors of advanced fibrosis between genders with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease

Objective To comparatively study the similarities and differences between the clinical, pathological, and risk factors of advanced fibrosis in men and women with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Methods 267 patients with NAFLD diagnosed by liver biopsy were retrospectively included, and were divided into male and female groups. The difference of clinical and pathological indexes were compared between the two groups. The measurement data were in accordance with normal distribution. The comparison between the two groups was performed by independent sample t-test. The non-parametric test was used for non-normal distribution. The classification data were expressed as a percentage, and the chi-square test was used for comparison between groups. Logistic regression analysis was used to analyze the risk factors. Results The age of onset of NAFLD was significantly lower in male than female patients ( P < 0.01). There was no statistically significant difference between the male and female groups in terms of body mass index and the prevalence of type 2 diabetes ( P > 0.05). Biochemical index: The levels of alanine aminotransferase, albumin, total bilirubin and uric acid were significantly higher in male than female patients ( P < 0.01). Liver pathology: The proportion of ballooning degeneration was significantly lower in male than female patients ( P < 0.01). There was not statistically significant difference between the two groups in the proportion of steatohepatitis score, non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (52.0% vs. 61.5%, P = 0.283) and advanced liver fibrosis (14.3% vs. 17.8%, P = 0.162). Thrombocytopenia was a common independent risk factor for advanced stage liver fibrosis ( OR = 0.984, 0.978~0.989, P < 0.01). Type 2 diabetes was only an independent risk factor for advanced stage liver fibrosis in men ( OR = 6.557, 1.667~25.782), P < 0.01). Elevated AST was only an independent risk factor for advanced stage liver fibrosis in women ( OR = 1.016, 1.003~1.028, P = 0.012). Conclusion In NAFLD patients, there are some clinical and pathological differences between genders. Platelets are a common predictor of advanced liver fibrosis in men and women. Type 2 diabetes in men and elevated aspartate aminotransferase in women can be regarded as independent risk factors for advanced liver fibrosis.