Characteristics of adults with histologically-defined NAFLD and matched population comparators at the index date
| Characteristic | Population comparators n=49 925 | All NAFLD n=10 568 | Simple steatosis n=7105 | NASH without fibrosis n=1218 | Non-cirrhotic fibrosis n=1658 | Cirrhosis n=587 |
| Female, % | 45.4 | 44.8 | 43.9 | 48.6 | 46.0 | 44.5 |
| Age at the index date, years (SD) | 51.8 (14.5) | 52.0 (14.5) | 50.8 (14.6) | 52.3 (14.9) | 54.6 (13.9) | 58.8 (11.6) |
| Years of follow-up, median (IQR) | 16.8 (9.3 to 22.9) | 14.2 (6.6 to 21.0) | 16.4 (8.2 to 22.6) | 12.8 (6.1 to 19.1) | 9.3 (4.8 to 15.9) | 7.8 (3.2 to 14.7) |
| Start of follow-up, % | ||||||
| 1966 to 1989 | 20.2 | 19.7 | 23.2 | 13.2 | 8.9 | 21.5 |
| 1990 to 2000 | 44.1 | 43.7 | 47.4 | 40.5 | 31.4 | 40.0 |
| 2001 to 2010 | 24.9 | 25.3 | 21.6 | 31.0 | 37.1 | 25.0 |
| 2011 to 2017 | 10.8 | 11.3 | 7.8 | 15.3 | 22.6 | 13.5 |
| Nordic country of birth, % | 91.5 | 89.7 | 90.4 | 88.0 | 87.7 | 89.8 |
| Highest education level*, % | (among n=39 857) | (among n=8482) | (among n=5454) | (among n=1057) | (among n=1510) | (among n=461) |
| ≤ 9 years | 29.8 | 31.3 | 30.7 | 31.1 | 31.0 | 39.7 |
| 10 to 12 years | 42.3 | 45.1 | 45.3 | 45.2 | 44.6 | 43.2 |
| ≥13 years | 25.9 | 21.3 | 22.0 | 22.0 | 22.2 | 13.5 |
| Unknown | 2.1 | 2.3 | 2.1 | 2.1 | 2.2 | 3.7 |
| Cardiovascular disease, % | 11.7 | 20.1 | 18.1 | 21.3 | 25.1 | 27.9 |
| Dyslipidaemia, % | 3.8 | 7.1 | 4.7 | 9.4 | 13.8 | 11.6 |
| Diabetes, % | 2.8 | 11.2 | 8.2 | 12.6 | 18.2 | 25.9 |
| Hypertension, % | 4.8 | 9.8 | 6.3 | 12.2 | 19.5 | 19.1 |
| Obesity, % | 0.4 | 4.4 | 3.9 | 4.7 | 5.7 | 7.2 |
| Metabolic syndrome†, % | 0.7 | 2.8 | 1.5 | 4.4 | 5.4 | 8.5 |
| Charlson Comorbidity Index‡, mean (SD) | 0.1 (0.6) | 0.6 (1.4) | 0.6 (1.4) | 0.5 (1.4) | 0.6 (1.4) | 0.5 (1.4) |
All variables reported as mean (SD) or %, unless described otherwise. For definitions of the NAFLD histological groups and all covariates, see the Appendix (online supplemental eMethods).
*Education categories based on compulsory school, high school and college (online supplemental eMethods). Education level was recorded beginning in 1990, thus data presented are for persons with index dates on or after 1 January 1990. For all other analyses, persons with index dates prior to 1990 had education level recorded as missing.
†Metabolic syndrome was defined as ≥3 metabolic risk factors (ie, dyslipidaemia, diabetes, hypertension and/or obesity), as outlined in the Methods and in online supplemental table S2.
‡The calculation of the modified Charlson Comorbidity Index is outlined in the supplementary appendix (online supplemental eMethods).
NAFLD, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease; NASH, non-alcoholic steatohepatitis.