Mediterranean-Oriented Dietary Intervention Is Effective to Reduce Liver Steatosis in Patients with Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease: Results from an Italian Clinical Trial
Table 1
Characteristics of the NAFLD patients and healthy controls.
NAFLD patients (n = 58)
Healthy controls (n = 73)
Male/female, number
31/27
31/42
0.24
Age (years), mean ± SD
49.0 ± 7.9
46.5 ± 9.8
0.10
Education level, number (%)
Primary school
22 (37.9)
17 (23.3)
High school
24 (41.4)
26 (35.6)
0.01
University
9 (15.5)
28 (38.3)
Not declared
3 (5.2)
2 (2.7)
BMI (kg/m2), mean ± SD
31.4 ± 5.5
24.0 ± 3.8
<0.001
BMI category (BMI range), number (%)
Underweight (<18.5)
0
5 (6.8)
<0.001
Normal weight (18.5–24.9)
3 (5.2)
39 (53.4)
Overweight (25–29.9)
20 (34.5)
25 (34.2)
Class I obesity (30–34.9)
26 (44.8)
4 (5.5)
Class II obesity (35–39.9)
4 (6.9)
0
Class III obesity (≥40)
5 (8.6)
0
Waist circumference (cm), mean ± SD
Males
107.3 ± 15.4
93.0 ± 9.1
<0.001
Females
101.9 ± 12.2
83.2 ± 9.9
<0.001
Smoking habit, number (%)
No
37 (63.8)
50 (68.5)
0.47
Yes
9 (15.5)
6 (8.2)
Quit
12 (20.7)
15 (20.5)
Not declared
0
2 (2.7)
Alcohol consumption
No
14 (24.1)
17 (23.3)
0.40
Daily (≤2 alcoholic units)
7 (12.1)
15 (20.5)
Occasionally
37 (63.8)
41 (56.2)
Family history
Cardiovascular diseases, number (%)
No
25 (43.1)
41 (56.2)
0.12
Yes
32 (55.2)
31 (42.5)
Not declared
1 (1.7)
1 (1.4)
Metabolic syndrome
No
47 (81.0)
59 (80.8)
0.81
Yes
10 (17.2)
11 (15.1)
Not declared
1 (1.7)
3 (4.1)
Diabetes
No
48 (82.8)
64 (87.7)
0.45
Yes
9 (15.5)
8 (10.9)
Not declared
1 (1.7)
1 (1.4)
Cancer
No
26 (44.8)
42 (57.5)
0.17
Yes
31 (53.4)
30 (41.1)
Not declared
1 (1.7)
1 (1.4)
Mann–Whitney and exact tests for continuous and categorical variables, respectively.
