Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease fibrosis score is a useful tool for carotid atherosclerosis screening in patients with obstructive sleep apnea

Table 5 Univariate and multivariate analysis of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease fibrosis score and the independent variables associated with carotid atherosclerosis in patients with obstructive sleep apnea (n = 112)

Independent variables	Univariate analysis			Multivariate analysis
	OR	95%CI	P value	OR	95%CI	P value
NFS (a.u.)	2.16	1.41-3.33	< 0.001	1.84	1.16-2.93	0.010
Sex (female/male)	0.61	0.28-1.33	0.215	-	-	-
Arterial hypertension (yes/no)	5.19	2.24-12.04	< 0.001	3.67	1.46-9.20	0.006
Previous history of CVD (yes/no)	9.29	1.93-44.76	0.005	-	-	-
Current smoking (yes/no)	2.57	1.02-6.47	0.044	3.10	0.99-9.66	0.052
LDL-c (mg/dL)	0.98	0.97-0.99	0.007	-	-	-
GFR (mL/minute/1.73 m2)	0.96	0.94-0.99	0.007	-	-	-
LDH (U/L)	1.01	1.00-1.02	0.033	-	-	-
AHI (events/hour)	1.00	0.98-1.01	0.633	-	-	-
ODI (events/hour)	1.01	0.99-1.03	0.292	-	-	-
Tc90%	1.00	0.99-1.02	0.586	-	-	-

Multivariate model was built following forward introduction of the variables selected by likelihood ratio test. Hosmer-Lemshow test was performed to evaluate goodness of fit of the model (P = 0.268). OR: Odds ratio; CI: Confidence interval; NFS: NAFLD fibrosis score; a.u.: Arbitrary units; CVD: Cardiovascular disease; LDL-c: Low-density lipoprotein cholesterol; GFR: Glomerular filtration rate; LDH: Lactate dehydrogenase; AHI: Apnea-hypopnea index; ODI: Oxygen desaturation index; Tc90%: Percentage of sleep time with oxygen saturation less than 90%.