| Variable | F0 (n = 34) | F1 (n = 32) | F2 (n = 28) | F3 (n = 27) | F4 (n = 29) | p Value (ANOVA) |
| Age (years) | 45.06 (SD 13.33) | 45.78 (SD 12.76) | 52.11 (SD 11.79) | 54.11 (SD 10.70)* | 57.69 (SD 8.64)† | <0.0001 |
| Male gender, n | 20 (59%) | 17 (53%) | 20 (71%) | 19 (70%) | 17 (59%) | 0.53†† |
| BMI (kg/m2) | 23.8 (SD 3) | 23.6 (SD 3.2) | 23 (SD 2.1) | 24 (SD 2.9) | 22.9 (SD 2.8) | 0.33 |
| Total bilirubin (mg/dl) | 0.64 (SD 0.23) | 0.69 (SD 0.35) | 0.77 (SD 0.24) | 0.78 (SD 0.29) | 1.04 (SD 0.58)† | 0.002 |
| Albumin (g/dl) | 4.12 (SD 0.45) | 4.29 (SD 0.25) | 4.27 (SD 0.38) | 4.02 (SD 0.29) | 3.64 (SD 0.65)‡ | <0.0001 |
| INR | 0.98 (SD 0.05) | 0.99 (SD 0.08) | 0.99 (SD 0.06) | 0.99 (SD 0.06) | 1.16 (SD 0.24)§ | <0.0001 |
| ALT (U/l) | 74.79 (SD 61.58) | 100.91 (SD 104.54) | 92.61 (SD 111.40) | 157.22 (SD 140.17)* | 94.07 (SD 65.77) | 0.02 |
| γ-GT (U/l) | 46.46 (SD 33.66) | 56.11 (SD 53.13) | 100.57 (SD 73.47) | 92.27 (SD 66.57)¶ | 63.90 (SD 55.59) | 0.0002 |
| Platelet count (×109/litre) | 231 (SD 52) | 228 (SD 60) | 203 (SD 69) | 172 (SD 62)† | 120 (SD 39)§ | <0.0001 |
| HCV genotype 3, n | 5 (15%) | 4 (13%) | 3 (11%) | 4 (15%) | 4 (14%) | 0.61†† |
| TE (kPa) | 5.6 (SD 1.8) | 6.8 (SD 2.3) | 8 (SD 1.6) | 13.9 (SD 2.9)** | 27.9 (SD 13.5)§ | <0.0001 |
*p<0.05 vs F0; †p<0.05 vs F0 and F1. ‡p<0.05 vs F0, F1 and F2; and p = 0.05 vs F3; §p<0.05 vs F0, F1, F2 and F3; ¶p<0.05 vs F0, F1 and F2;
**p<0.05 vs F0, F1, F2 and F4; ††χ2.
ALT, alanine aminotransferase; BMI, body mass index; γ-GT, gamma glutamyl-transpeptidase; HCV, hepatitis C virus; INR, international normalised ratio; TE, transient elastography.