Common genetic variations in CLOCK transcription factor are associated with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease

Table 1 Clinical and biochemical characteristics of the study individuals

Variables	Control group	NAFLD patients	EmpiricP value
Number of subjects	64	136
Age, yr	46.14 ± 1.64	55.58 ± 1.06	0.001
Smoking habit, cigarettes/d	1.58 ± 0.52	1.30 ± 0.75	NS
Physical activity, h/wk	1.4 ± 0.30	1.4 ± 0.32	NS
Drinking habits, g alcohol/d	1.72 ± 0.64	0.75 ± 0.42	NS
BMI, kg/m2	25.61 ± 0.64	36.02 ± 3.11	0.001
Waist circumference, cm	84.13 ± 2.14	103.07 ± 1.42	0.001
Waist-hip ratio	0.84 ± 0.01	0.91 ± 0.007	0.001
SABP, mmHg	121.64 ± 1.87	124.05 ± 2.11	NS
DABP, mmHg	75.86 ± 1.32	78.38 ± 1.49	NS
Fasting plasma glucose, mmol/L	4.73 ± 0.07	5.74 ± 0.22	0.050
Fasting plasma insulin, pmol/L	46.1 ± 3.5	94.5 ± 6.9	0.001
HOMA Index	1.42 ± 0.12	3.44 ± 0.30	0.001
Total cholesterol, mmol/L	5.59 ± 0.17	5.44 ± 0.15	NS
HDL cholesterol, mmol/L	1.27 ± 0.09	1.20 ± 0.05	NS
LDL-cholesterol, mmol/L	3.22 ± 0.29	3.11 ± 0.14	NS
Uric acid, μmol/L	220 ± 51	244 ± 27	NS
Triglycerides, mmol/L	1.74 ± 0.13	2.02 ± 013	NS
ALT, UI/L	24.37 ± 5.2	49.25 ± 5.32	0.080
AST, UI/L	26.4 ± 2.0	36.72 ± 2.27	0.080
γGT, UI/L	36.50 ± 6.8	53.69 ± 5.32	NS
AF, UI/L	221.87 ± 13.0	228.90 ± 11.2	NS

NAFLD: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease; BMI: Body mass index; SABP and DABP: Systolic and diastolic arterial blood pressure, respectively; HOMA: Homeostatic model assessment; ALT and AST: Serum alanine and aspartate aminotransferase, respectively; γGT: Gamma-glutamyl-transferase; AF: Alkaline phosphatase. Results are expressed as mean ± SE. Nominal P value stands for statistical significance using Student’s t test after log variable transformation. Empiric P value stands for statistical significance adjusted for multiple testing by Bonferoni correction. NS: Non significant.