Benefits of Levothyroxine Replacement Therapy on Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease in Subclinical Hypothyroidism Patients

Table 2

Prevalence of NAFLD and serum liver enzymes throughout the study in SCH patients.

Variables	Significant SCH-LT4; ()	Mild SCH patients
		LT4 group; ()	Control group; ()	value
Prevalence of NAFLD, n (%)
Baseline	16 (48.5)	80 (44.2)	59 (39.6)	0.400
End-of-study	8 (24.2)	65 (35.9)	52 (34.9)	0.848
value^#	0.041	0.108	0.402	—
ALT (IU/L)
Baseline	18.61 ± 7.67	19.09 ± 9.00	17.20 ± 8.35	0.050
End-of-study	17.15 ± 7.34	17.95 ± 7.71	17.29 ± 7.68	0.410
value^#	0.383	0.087	0.906	—
Change in ALT	−1.46 ± 9.44	−1.14 ± 8.77	0.09 ± 9.01	0.217
AST (IU/L)
Baseline	26.12 ± 5.83	26.08 ± 6.80	24.65 ± 5.77	0.057
End-of-study	20.52 ± 6.69	21.22 ± 6.88	21.36 ± 6.48	0.854
value^#	<0.001	<0.001	<0.001	—
Change in AST	−5.61 ± 1.27	−4.86 ± 7.34	−3.29 ± 6.65	0.046

Values for quantitative data are expressed as mean ± standard deviation; values for categorical variables are expressed as number (percentage).
value for comparing variables between mild SCH-LT₄ group and mild SCH-control group.
^# value for comparing variables between baseline and end-of-study within each group.
NAFLD: nonalcoholic fatty liver disease; SCH: subclinical hypothyroidism; LT₄: levothyroxine; ALT: alanine aminotransferase; AST: aspartate aminotransferase.