Increased circulating zonulin in children with biopsy-proven nonalcoholic fatty liver disease

Table 1 Characteristics of obese children by liver status

	No NAFLD (n = 40)	NAFLD (n = 40)	P value
Age, yr1	11.10 (3.1)	11.10 (3.1)
Male gender1	25 (62.5)	25 (62.5)
BMI-SD score	2.10 (0.32)	2.15 (0.50)	0.5600
Waist circumference, cm	92 (12)	97 (12)a	0.0270
Abdominal fat
Visceral adipose tissue, cm2	284 (217-502)	447 (337-676)	0.0040
Subcutaneous adipose tissue, cm2	1648 (1301-2503)	1828 (1629-2471)	0.2200
Hepatic fat fraction	1.5% (1.0%-3.0%)	16.0% (10.0%-30.0%)	< 0.0001
Triglycerides, mg/dL	81 (52-114)	96 (68-149)	0.0490
Total cholesterol, mg/dL	154 (142-185)	149 (130-179)	0.1100
HDL-C, mg/dL	49 (43-54)	45 (37-53)	0.3100
Aspartate aminotransferase, U/L	25 (11)	34 (26)	0.0370
Alanine aminotransferase, U/L	26 (17)	50 (43)	< 0.0001
γ-glutamyl transferase, U/L	15 (8)	23 (12)	< 0.0001
Fasting glucose, mg/dL	85 (6)	83 (8)	0.3300
2-h glucose, mg/dL	94 (13)	93 (14)	0.8700
Fasting insulin, μU/mL	11 (8-15)	20 (15-28)	0.0010
2-h insulin, μU/mL	35 (23-63)	67 (29-107)	0.0070
Fasting C peptide, pmol/L	780 (576-887)	1075 (816-1302)	< 0.0001
HOMA-IR values	2.24 (1.80-3.17)	4.11 (2.95-6.67)	0.0030
WBISI	5.84 (3.16-6.87)	2.57 (1.58-5.36)	0.0020
HbA1c	5.0% (0.32)	5.4% (0.47)	0.0170
HSCRP, μg/L	1800 (1000-3200)	3000 (1500-4325)	0.0490
Zonulin, ng/mL	3.31 (2.05-4.63)	4.23 (3.18-5.89)	0.0090

¹Matched variables. Results are expressed as n (%), mean ± SD, or median (IQR). BMI-SDS: Body mass index-standard deviation score; HDL-C: High-density lipoprotein cholesterol; HOMA-IR: Homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance; WBISI: Whole-body insulin sensitivity index; HbA_1c: Haemoglobin A_1c; HSCRP: High-sensitive C reactive protein; NAFLD: Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.