Clinical characteristics of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in Chinese adult hypopituitary patients

Table 1 Clinical characteristics of hypopituitary patients with or without non-alcoholic fatty liver disease

	NAFLD (-) (n = 23)	NAFLD (+)
		NAFLD (n = 20)	Cirrhosis (n = 7)
Male n (%)	17 (73.9)	13 (65.0)	6 (85.7)
Age (yr)	22.8 (19.6-30.4)	30.8 (24.5-34.6)	21.0 (19.0-25.2)
Duration (yr)	3.0 (1.0-13.0)a	8.5 (1.1-19.0)	13.0 (11.0-18.0)
BMI (kg/m2)	22.2 (19.3-25.3)a	27.9 (25.4-31.7)	27.7 (24.2-32.1)
WC (cm)	73.0 (81.5-96.3)a	102.0 (92.5-109.8)	110.5 (91.5-128.8)
SBP (mmHg)	108.7 ± 15.3	122.0 ± 13.4	108.4 ± 15.5
DBP (mmHg)	70.0 ± 12.5	77.1 ± 11.1	64.4 ± 8.1
GH (ng/mL)	0.10 (0.05-0.30)	0.10 (0.08-0.10)	0.10 (0.05-0.25)
IGF1 (ng/mL)	66.0 (28.0-113.0)	107.0 (43.0-141.0)	92.5 (25.0-205.3)
FT3 (pg/mL)	2.61 (2.24-3.15)	2.43 (2.25-3.08)	2.53 (2.15-2.72)
FT4 (ng/dL)	0.86 (0.66-1.01)	0.88 (0.70-1.11)	0.97 (0.46-1.14)
TSH (μIU/mL)	1.907 (0.151-2.968)	2.098 (0.806-2.557)	3.083 (0.091-4.945)
GLU (mmol/L)	5.0 (4.6-5.3)	4.9 (4.5-5.3)	5.3 (4.7-8.9)
HOMA-IR	2.60 (1.60-3.71)a	3.92 (2.62-6.02)	9.57 (2.23-10.94)
HbA1C (%)	5.2 (4.7-5.5)	5.5 (5.3-5.9)	6.7 (4.7-8.8)
TC (mmol/L)	4.98 (4.18-5.74)	5.07 (4.70-7.03)	5.31 (4.55-6.16)
TG (mmol/L)	1.29 (0.98-1.78)	1.89 (1.06-2.48)	2.15 (1.16-2.89)
HDL-C (mmol/L)	1.17 (0.97-1.44)	0.99 (0.89-1.49)	0.93 (0.70-1.41)
LDL-C (mmol/L)	2.91 ± 0.97	3.29 ± 1.08	3.34 ± 0.72
UA (μmol/L)	418.91 ± 88.25	457.42 ± 111.01	493.14 ± 212.83
hsCRP (mg/L)	2.07 (1.14-5.24)	3.43 (2.27-6.68)	2.28 (1.50-13.71)
Posm (mOsm/kgH2O)	305.2 (298.8-314.6)	299.3 (293.7-305.5) b	314.9 (296.0-336.1)
Na (mmol/L)	146.0 (143.0-150.0)	143.0 (140.0-146.5) b	151.0 (141.0-162.0)
Cl (mmol/L)	109.0 (108.0-114.0)	106.0 (104.3-110.8) b	118.0 (108.0-130.0)
K (mmol/L)	4.20 ± 0.30	4.10 ± 0.30	4.10 ± 0.20
Cr (μmol/L)	66.8 ± 15.2	70.2 ± 16.9	64.4 ± 17.0

^aP < 0.05 vs the cirrhosis group.

^bP < 0.05 vs the cirrhosis group.

NAFLD: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease; BMI: Body mass index; WC: Waist circumference; SBP: Systolic blood pressure; DBP: Diastolic blood pressure; GH: Growth hormone; IGF1: Insulin like growth factor 1; FT₃: Free triiodothyronine; FT₄: Free thyroxine; TSH: Thyroid stimulating hormone; GLU: Glucose; HOMA-IR: Homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance; HbA1_C: Glycated hemoglobin A1_C; TC: Total cholesterol; TG: Triglyceride; HDL-C: High density lipoprotein cholesterol; LDL-C: Low density lipoprotein cholesterol; UA: Uric acid; hsCRP: Hypersensitive C reactive protein; Posm: Plasma osmolality; Na: Serum sodium; K: Serum potassium; Cl: Serum chlorine; Cr: Serum creatinine.

Table 2 Etiology of hypopituitarism and distribution of pituitary deficiencies in our patients n (%)

		NAFLD (-) (n = 23)	NAFLD (+)
			NAFLD (n = 20)	Cirrhosis (n = 7)
Etiology	Congenital hypopituitarism	7 (30.4)	9 (45.0)	3 (42.9)
	Intracranial germ cell tumor	10 (43.5)	4 (20.0)	3 (42.9)
	Craniopharyngioma	1 (4.3)	2 (10.0)	1 (14.3)
	Others	5 (21.7)	5 (25.0)	0 (0.0)
Distribution of pituitary deficiencies	Gonadotrophins	23 (100)	20 (100)	7 (100.0)
	Growth hormone	20 (87.0)	19 (95.0)	7 (100.0)
	Thyroid	18 (78.3)	12 (60.0)	7 (100.0)
	Adrenal	14 (60.9)	13 (65.0)	6 (85.7)
	Diabetes insipidus	18 (78.3)	13 (65.0)	5 (71.4)
Number of pituitary axis deficiencies	1	0 (0.0)	0 (0.0)	0 (0.0)
	2	2 (8.7)	3 (15.0)	0 (0.0)
	3	6 (26.1)	4 (20.0)	0 (0.0)
	4	4 (17.4)	6 (30.0)	3 (42.9)
	5	11 (47.8)	7 (35.0)	4 (57.1)

NAFLD: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.

Table 3 Liver function including liver enzymes, routine blood tests, and coagulation function tests in our patients

Index		NAFLD (-) (n = 23)	NAFLD (+)
			NAFLD (n = 20)	Cirrhosis (n = 7)
Liver enzymes	ALT (U/L)	26.0 (20.0-41.0)	35.0 (27.3-81.8)	23.0 (19.0-59.0)
	ALB (g/L)	46.8 ± 3.5a	47.7 ± 3.0a	49.6 ± 4.6
	TBil (μmol/L)	8.7 (6.9-14.4)b	12.3 (8.0-17.1)a	13.2 (9.9-15.9)
	DBil (μmol/L)	2.6 (2.2-4.4)	3.4 (2.6-5.5)	4.4 (3.2-5.1)
	GGT (U/L)	23.0 (16.0-33.0)a	52.0 (29.0-77.0)	52.0 (23.0-141.0)
	ALP (U/L)	77.0 (60.5-122.5)	82.0 (69.0-92.0)	71.0 (62.0-117.0)
	AST (U/L)	28.0 (22.5-38.5)	36.0 (26.0-55.0)	26.0 (20.0-59.0)
	TBA (μmol/L)	2.90 (1.35-3.25)	3.60 (2.30-7.00)	3.60 (1.30-9.10)
	LD (U/L)	233.9 ± 54.8	227.6 ± 41.4	215.3 ± 60.8
Routine blood tests	WBC (×109/L)	6.53 ± 2.61a	6.32 ± 1.71a	4.02 ± 1.14
	NEUT# (×109/L)	3.65 ± 1.90b	3.44 ± 1.24a	1.75 ± 0.30
	PLT (×109/L)	250.5 ± 81.1c	273.0 ± 90.1c	91.1 ± 53.3
Coagulation function tests	PT (s)	12.11 ± 1.06c	11.87 ± 1.01c	15.43 ± 2.24
	PT% (%)	87.3 ± 8.8c	94.3 ± 14.9c	62.6 ± 12.1
	INR	1.05 ± 0.08c	1.01 ± 0.10c	1.33 ± 0.17
	FgB (g/L)	2.97 ± 0.78b	3.09 ± 0.81b	1.89 ± 0.59
	APTT (s)	31.35 (25.70-35.15)	28.45 (25.30-38.33)	33.50 (30.48-41.58)
	TT (s)	18.34 ± 0.97b	17.82 ± 0.94c	19.75 ± 1.08

^aP < 0.05 vs the cirrhosis group.

^bP < 0.01 vs the cirrhosis group.

^cP < 0.001 vs the cirrhosis group.

NAFLD: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease; ALT: Alanine aminotransferase; ALB: Albumin; TBil: Total bilirubin; DBil: Direct bilirubin; GGT: γ-glutamyltransferase; ALP: Alkaline phosphatase; AST: Aspartate aminotransferase; TBA: Total bile acid; LD: Lactic dehydrogenase; WBC: White blood cells; NEUT: Neutrophil granulocyte; PLT: Blood platelet; PT: Prothrombin time; INR: International normalized ratio; FgB: Fibrinogen; APTT: Activated partial thromboplastin time; TT: Thrombin time.