Statistical analysis
All statistical analyses were conducted using SPSS 22.0 (IBM Corp.,
Armonk, NY, USA). Continuous variables are presented as mean±standard
deviation for those with normal distributions and as median and
interquartile range for those with skewed distributions. Categorical
variables are presented as numbers
with percentages. Continuous variables were compared using the Student’st -test or Mann–Whitney U test, and categorical variables were
compared using the chi-squared or Fisher’s exact tests, as applicable.
Correlations between D-lactate and clinical parameters in patients with
NAFLD were determined using Pearson’s or Spearman’s correlation, as
applicable. P˂0.05 (two-sided) was considered to indicate statistical
significance.