Hepatic Fat Content and Liver Enzymes Are Associated with Circulating Free and Protein-Bound Advanced Glycation End Products, Which Are Associated with Low-Grade Inflammation: The CODAM Study
Table 1
General characteristics of the study population () according to tertiles of eLF%.
All participants
Liver fat according to tertiles of eLF%
value
()
Lowest ()
Middle ()
Highest ()
Age (years)
0.057
Male sex (%)
62.4
54.2
60.9
72
0.003
NGM/IGM/T2DM (%)
53.5/22.6/24.0
83.3/15.5/1.2
56.8/30.2/13.0
20.2/22.0/57.7###
<0.001
CVD (%)
26.9
19.6
23.7
37.5#
0.001
Current smoker (%)
20.8
22.6
21.9
17.9
0.853
Alcohol (g/day)
8.6 (1.3–22.8)
8.5 (2.4–22.7)
9.9 (1.4–24.2)
7.1 (0.5–21.2)
0.311
Antihypertensive medication (%)
37.4
23.2
35.5
53.6##
<0.001
Lipid-modifying medication (%)
18.2
12.5
16.6
25.6
0.006
Glucose-lowering medication (%)
12.1
0.6
5.3
30.4###
<0.001
Body mass index (kg/m²)
###
<0.001
Waist circumference (cm)
###
<0.001
Fasting glucose (mM)
5.58 (5.20–6.34)
5.20 (4.94–5.44)
5.57 (5.22–6.00)
6.57 (5.84–7.62)###
<0.001
Triglycerides (mM)
1.4 (1.0–1.9)
1.0 (0.8–1.4)
1.5 (1.1–2.0)
1.8 (1.4–2.2)###
<0.001
Cholesterol (mM)
0.197
LDL cholesterol (mM)
0.120
HDL cholesterol (mM)
###
<0.001
HbA1c (%)
5.80 (5.50–6.20)
5.60 (5.30–5.80)
5.80 (5.50–6.10)
6.20 (5.80–6.90)###
<0.001
HOMA2-IR
1.58 (1.09–2.51)
1.02 (0.80–1.26)
1.56 (1.21–2.00)
3.21 (2.37–4.55)###
<0.001
IL-6 (pg/ml)
1.56 (1.12–2.28)
1.25 (0.96–2.18)
1.60 (1.17–2.20)
1.80 (1.33–2.57)
<0.001
IL-8 (pg/ml)
4.34 (3.58–5.53)
4.18 (3.44–5.23)
4.30 (3.50–5.13)
4.78 (3.83–6.30)##
<0.001
TNF-α (pg/ml)
6.25 (5.23–7.61)
5.94 (5.02–7.01)
6.34 (5.30–7.51)
6.60 (5.43–7.96)
0.002
CRP (mg/l)
2.04 (0.92–3.97)
1.07 (0.59–2.72)
2.20 (1.20–4.33)
2.71 (1.46–5.00)
<0.001
SAA (mg/l)
1.42 (0.98–2.27)
1.20 (0.87–2.16)
1.52 (1.02–2.41)
1.52 (1.05–2.33)
0.004
sICAM-1 (ng/ml)
212.5 (186.8–242.7)
195.4 (177.8–221.5)
211.0 (189.1–236.5)
231.8 (204.9–257.8)###
<0.001
Low-grade inflammation score
##
<0.001
PB-pentosidine (nmol/mmol lysine)
0.43 (0.36–0.53)
0.46 (0.39–0.55)
0.44 (0.36–0.52)
0.41 (0.35–0.50)
0.015
PB-CML (nmol/mmol lysine)
34.6 (29.6–41.0)
37.1 (32.3–44.9)
35.2 (31.1–40.6)
31.1 (26.4–38.0)###
<0.001
PB-CEL (nmol/mmol lysine)
23.3 (19.0–29.2)
22.8 (19.5–26.9)
24.2 (19.0–30.3)
22.9 (18.6–29.5)
0.250
Free CML (nM)
79.5 (61.2–98.6)
76.0 (60.3–92.9)
80.4 (61.0–100.1)
82.2 (64.1–102.5)
0.144
Free CEL (nM)
45.5 (37.0–58.0)
42.7 (34.8–52.4)
45.9 (38.7–56.7)
51.0 (38.2–63.0)
<0.001
Free MG-H1 (nM)
123.8 (87.5–176.6)
127.2 (90.8–168.1)
121.0 (85.6–172.5)
119.6 (85.0–198.3)
0.810
sRAGE (pg/ml)
1250 (893–1604)
1402 (1112–1756)
1229 (838–1567)
1155 (850–1440)
<0.001
ALAT (U/l)
22.2 (17.2–27.9)
17.1 (14.3–21.2)
22.4 (18.0–26.7)
28.6 (23.2–36.3)###
<0.001
ASAT (U/l)
19.8 (16.5–24.2)
18.2 (14.7–21.4)
19.3 (16.6–23.3)
22.7 (19.0–27.6)###
<0.001
GGT (U/l)
24.0 (17.0–37.0)
18.0 (13.0–23.8)
26.0 (18.0–37.5)
34.0 (24.0–48.8)###
<0.001
Liver enzyme score
###
<0.001
eLF% (%)
4.79 (2.35–8.62)
2.11 (1.79–2.35)
4.79 (3.80–5.89)
10.64 (8.60–14.53)###
<0.001
FLI
###
<0.001
eGFR (ml/min/1.73 m2)
0.028
Data are expressed as mean ± SD, median (interquartile range) or percentages. The minimum and maximum of eLF% tertiles were (0.85–2.91), (2.92–6.97), and (6.98–36.65) %, respectively. eLF%: estimated liver fat %; NGM: normal glucose metabolism; IGM: impaired glucose metabolism; T2DM: type 2 diabetes mellitus; CVD: cardiovascular disease; LDL: low-density lipoprotein; HDL: high-density lipoprotein; HbA1c: hemoglobin A1c; HOMA2-IR: homeostasis model assessment insulin resistance; IL; interleukin; TNF-α: tumour necrosis factor-α; CRP: C-reactive protein; SAA: serum amyloid A; sICAM1: soluble intercellular adhesion molecule 1; ALAT: alanine aminotransferase; ASAT: aspartate amino transferase; GGT: γ-glutamyl transferase; FLI: fatty liver index; eGFR: estimated glomerular filtration rate. ,, vs. lowest tertile. #,##,### vs. middle tertile.