Table 1 Patient characteristics at diagnosis by sex-specific tertiles of serum choline/betaine levels
From: Serum choline is associated with hepatocellular carcinoma survival: a prospective cohort study
| Serum choline | Serum betaine | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| T1 | T2 | T3 | P-value b | T1 | T2 | T3 | P-value b | |
| Age at diagnosisa, years | 50.2 ± 11.9 | 52.8 ± 11.5 | 53.8 ± 11.7 | 0.00 | 51.6 ± 11.7 | 52.1 ± 12.2 | 51.6 ± 11.7 | 0.37 |
| Men,n(%) | 257 (88.6) | 257 (88.9) | 256 (89.2) | 0.98 | 256 (88.9) | 258 (89.0) | 256 (88.9) | 1.00 |
| BMI at diagnosisa, kg/m2 | 22.5 ± 3.3 | 22.8 ± 3.2 | 22.7 ± 3.3 | 0.34 | 22.5 ± 3.0 | 22.9 ± 3.6 | 22.5 ± 3.0 | 0.68 |
| Education level,n(%) | 0.37 | 0.45 | ||||||
| Primary school or below | 56 (19.4) | 63 (21.9) | 52 (18.1) | 62 (21.7) | 48 (16.6) | 61 (21.2) | ||
| Secondary & High school | 168 (58.3) | 177 (61.5) | 183 (63.8) | 175 (61.2) | 184 (63.7) | 169 (58.7) | ||
| College or above | 64 (22.2) | 48 (16.7) | 52 (18.1) | 49 (17.1) | 57 (19.7) | 58 (20.1) | ||
| Residence,n(%) | 0.60 | 0.03 | ||||||
| Urban | 195 (67.2) | 205 (70.9) | 195 (67.9) | 215 (74.7) | 192 (66.2) | 188 (65.3) | ||
| Rural | 95 (32.8) | 84 (29.1) | 92 (32.1) | 73 (25.3) | 98 (33.8) | 100 (34.7) | ||
| Smoking status,n(%) | 0.00 | 0.06 | ||||||
| Current | 101 (34.8) | 90 (31.1) | 74 (25.8) | 106 (36.8) | 81 (27.9) | 78 (27.1) | ||
| former | 55 (19.0) | 86 (29.8) | 100 (34.8) | 71 (24.7) | 80 (27.6) | 90 (31.2) | ||
| Never | 134 (46.2) | 113 (39.1) | 113 (39.4) | 111 (38.5) | 129 (44.5) | 120 (41.7) | ||
| Alcohol drinking status,n(%) | 0.57 | 0.73 | ||||||
| Current | 83 (28.6) | 75 (26.0) | 79 (27.5) | 75 (26.0) | 86 (29.7) | 76 (26.4) | ||
| former | 39 (13.4) | 37 (12.8) | 48 (16.7) | 41 (14.2) | 37 (12.8) | 46 (16.0) | ||
| Never | 168 (57.9) | 177 (61.2) | 160 (55.7) | 172 (59.7) | 167 (57.6) | 166 (57.6) | ||
| With family history of PLC,n(%) | 46 (15.9) | 33 (11.4) | 33 (11.5) | 0.19 | 37 (12.8) | 39 (13.4) | 36 (12.5) | 0.94 |
| HBV or HCV infected,n(%) | 269 (92.8) | 263 (91.0) | 257 (89.5) | 0.40 | 254 (88.2) | 261 (90.0) | 274 (95.1) | 0.01 |
| AFP ≥ 400 ng/L,n(%) | 112 (38.9) | 130 (45.0) | 116 (40.4) | 0.30 | 124 (43.2) | 124 (42.9) | 110 (38.2) | 0.39 |
| CRP ≥ 3.0 mg/L,n(%) | 148 (51.6) | 139 (48.3) | 149 (52.1) | 0.61 | 138 (48.1) | 137 (47.6) | 161 (56.3) | 0.06 |
| Presence of chronic diseases,n(%) | ||||||||
| Hypertension | 28 (9.7) | 44 (15.2) | 39 (13.6) | 0.12 | 34 (11.7) | 33 (11.5) | 111 (12.8) | 0.31 |
| Diabetes mellitus | 19 (6.6) | 21 (7.3) | 29 (10.1) | 0.25 | 30 (10.4) | 22 (7.6) | 17 (5.9) | 0.13 |
| Fatty liver | 44 (15.2) | 50 (17.3) | 49 (17.1) | 0.75 | 64 (22.2) | 47 (16.2) | 32 (11.1) | 0.00 |
| Cirrhosis | 176 (60.7) | 186 (64.4) | 182 (63.4) | 0.64 | 175 (60.8) | 176 (60.7) | 193 (67.0) | 0.20 |
| Baseline liver damage level,n(%) | 0.87 | 0.16 | ||||||
| 1 | 58 (20.0) | 62 (21.5) | 52 (18.1) | 60 (20.8) | 58 (20.0) | 54 (18.8) | ||
| 2 | 109 (37.6) | 109 (37.7) | 116 (40.4) | 95 (33.0) | 123 (42.4) | 116 (40.3) | ||
| 3 | 123 (42.4) | 118 (40.8) | 119 (41.5) | 133 (46.2) | 109 (37.6) | 118 (41.0) | ||
| Child-Pugh class,n(%) | 0.45 | 0.16 | ||||||
| A | 283 (97.6) | 286 (99.0) | 282 (98.3) | 286 (99.3) | 285 (98.3) | 280 (97.2) | ||
| B | 7 (2.4) | 3 (1.0) | 5 (1.7) | 2 (0.7) | 5 (1.7) | 8 (2.8) | ||
| BCLC stage,n(%) | 0.01 | 0.95 | ||||||
| 0 | 23 (7.9) | 31 (10.7) | 28 (9.8) | 25 (8.7) | 28 (9.7) | 29 (10.1) | ||
| A | 85 (29.3) | 80 (27.7) | 101 (35.2) | 87 (30.2) | 95 (32.8) | 84 (29.2) | ||
| B | 20 (6.9) | 41 (14.2) | 34 (11.8) | 33 (11.5) | 32 (11.0) | 30 (10.4) | ||
| C | 162 (55.9) | 137 (47.4) | 124 (43.2) | 143 (49.7) | 135 (46.6) | 145 (50.3) | ||
| Treatment,n(%) | 0.61 | 0.18 | ||||||
| Liver resection | 132 (45.5) | 124 (42.9) | 127 (44.3) | 133 (46.2) | 134 (46.2) | 116 (40.3) | ||
| Radiofrequency ablation | 31 (10.7) | 28 (9.7) | 26 (9.1) | 21 (7.3) | 29 (10.0) | 35 (12.2) | ||
| Intervention | 109 (37.6) | 127 (43.9) | 121 (42.2) | 121 (42.0) | 109 (37.6) | 127 (44.1) | ||
| Others | 18 (6.2) | 10 (3.5) | 13 (4.5) | 13 (4.5) | 18 (6.2) | 10 (3.5) | ||
| Serum choline (μmol/L) | < 0.001 | < 0.001 | ||||||
| Median | 8.76 | 11.77 | 18.14 | 10.48 | 11.83 | 12.97 | ||
| Interquartile range | 8.13–9.53 | 11.03–12.54 | 14.94–20.36 | 8.93–12.89 | 9.62–14.07 | 10.37–17.11 | ||
| Serum betaine (μmol/L) | < 0.001 | < 0.001 | ||||||
| Median | 59.93 | 66.08 | 73.65 | 48.19 | 64.49 | 83.72 | ||
| Interquartile range | 47.13–70.24 | 54.44–74.30 | 59.08–85.95 | 42.13–53.35 | 60.91–68.60 | 77.65–94.46 | ||
| Serum folate (μmol/L) | < 0.001 | 0.03 | ||||||
| Median | 7.13 | 6.97 | 8.29 | 6.75 | 7.52 | 7 | ||
| Interquartile range | 5.30–8.54 | 4.70–8.88 | 5.90–10.37 | 5.05–8.87 | 5.47–9.71 | 5.20–9.44) | ||