Serum autotaxin levels are correlated with hepatic fibrosis and ballooning in patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease

Table 2 Correlation between autotaxin and clinicopathological findings

	All (n = 186)		Male (n = 80)		Female (n = 106)
	r	P value	r	P value	r	P value
Age (yr)	0.48	< 0.001	0.45	< 0.001	0.28	< 0.01
BMI (kg/m2)	0.18	< 0.05	0.06	NS	0.31	< 0.01
Platelet (× 104/μL)	-0.32	< 0.001	-0.28	< 0.05	-0.43	< 0.001
Albumin (g/dL)	-0.32	< 0.001	-0.10	NS	-0.31	< 0.01
AST (IU/L)	0.31	< 0.001	0.34	< 0.01	0.40	< 0.001
ALT (IU/L)	0.06	NS	0.14	NS	0.24	< 0.05
TG (mg/dL)	-0.09	NS	-0.14	NS	-0.08	NS
LDL-C (mg/dL)	-0.04	NS	-0.01	NS	-0.06	NS
HDL-C (mg/dL)	0.13	NS	-0.04	NS	-0.04	< 0.001
FBG (mg/dL)	0.22	< 0.01	0.36	0.001	0.21	< 0.05
IRI (mU/L)	0.20	< 0.01	0.15	NS	0.31	0.002
HOMA-IR	0.22	< 0.01	0.22	< 0.05	0.31	0.001
Fe (μg/dL)	0.09	NS	0.12	NS	0.35	< 0.001
Ferritin (ng/mL)	0.04	NS	0.22	NS	0.31	0.002
HA (ng/mL)	0.49	< 0.001	0.47	< 0.001	0.46	< 0.001
4C7S (ng/mL)	0.40	< 0.001	0.30	< 0.01	0.50	< 0.001
FIB-4	0.58	< 0.001	0.51	< 0.001	0.60	< 0.001
APRI	0.43	< 0.001	0.45	< 0.001	0.55	< 0.001
Histological findings
Steatosis score	0.02	NS	0.12	NS	-0.03	NS
Lobular inflammation score	0.22	< 0.01	0.06	NS	0.25	< 0.01
Ballooning score	0.36	< 0.001	0.34	< 0.01	0.38	< 0.001
NAS	0.27	< 0.001	0.27	< 0.05	0.26	< 0.01
Fibrosis stage	0.45	< 0.001	0.44	< 0.001	0.53	< 0.001

Correlations were calculated using Spearman’s test. ATX: Autotaxin; BMI: Body mass index; AST: Aspartate aminotransferase; ALT: Alanine aminotransferase; TG: Triglyceride; LDL-C: Low density lipoprotein cholesterol; HDL-C: High density lipoprotein cholesterol; FBG: Fasting blood glucose; IRI: Immunoreactive insulin; HOMA-IR: Homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance; HA: Hyaluronic acid; 4C7S: Type 4 collagen•7S; FIB-4: Fibrosis-4 index; APRI: AST to platelet ratio; NAS: NAFLD activity score; NS: Not significant.