Serum immunoglobulin A concentration is a reliable biomarker for liver fibrosis in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease

Table 2 Comparison of the clinical characteristics of patients with and without nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (mean ± SD)

Variable	NASHn =28	Non-NASHn = 22	P value
Age (yr)	41.8 ± 11.2	40.9 ± 15.3	0.80
Weight (kg)	77.0 ± 10.3	81.8 ± 14.1	0.17
Height (cm)	167.1 ± 9.2	168.2 ± 9.9	0.68
BMI (kg/m²)			0.153
< 25	23.63 ± 0.7	23.97 ± 1.1
25-29.9	28.09 ± 1.4	27.25 ± 1.3
≥ 30	31.25 ± 1.5	34.25 ± 4.0
ALT (U/mL)	89.7 ± 40.5	66.7 ± 24.3	0.02
AST (U/mL)	51.7 ± 20.4	42.4 ± 15.3	0.08
AST/ALT ratio	0.6 ± 0.1	0.6 ± 0.2	0.28
ALP (mg/dL)	217.3 ± 88.3	198.5 ± 54.3	0.38
Albumin (mg/dL)	4.5 ± 0.4	4.3 ± 0.5	0.18
FBS (mg/dL)	108.5 ± 27.3	95.3 ± 11	0.03
TG (mg/dL)	238.7 ± 110.8	173.6 ± 85.7	0.02
Cholesterol (g/dL)	206.7 ± 39.7	195.3 ± 32.9	0.28
HDL (mg/dL)	44.8 ± 10.3	47.9 ± 10.6	0.31
LDL (mg/dL)	117.7 ± 29.5	121.7 ± 49.9	0.72
IgA (mg/dL)	351.3 ± 125.9	289.6 ± 80.4	0.052

ALT: Alanine aminotransferase; AST: Aspartate aminotransferase; ALP: Alkaline phosphatase; HDL: High-density lipoprotein; HDL: High-density lipoprotein; IgA: Immunoglobulin A.