title: Association of different types of liver disease with demographic and clinical factors.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  A metric that predicts the presence of cancer-related liver disease would allow early implementation of treatment. We compared the demographic and clinical characteristics of patients with no evidence of liver disease, with a cancer-associated liver disease, and with a liver disease not associated with cancer.
  
  
  METHODS
  Retrospective, hospital-based, cross-sectional study which reviewed the medical records of subjects who underwent health examinations at a Taiwanese hospital from 2000 to 2004 and who had normal levels of amino transaminases. Demographic and clinical data were analyzed by univariate and multivariate statistics.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 2344 subjects had no evidence of liver disease (non-LD), and 1918 subjects had at least one liver disease (LD). The LD group was further divided into those with a cancer-associated liver disease (LD-1, n = 1632) and those with a liver disease not associated with cancer (LD-2, n = 286). Age, BMI, percentage of males, globulin:albumin ratio (G/A), percentage of patients with gallstones, AST, and ALT were significantly higher in the LD group. Univariate analysis showed that the G/A was significantly higher in the LD-2 group than the LD-1 group; multivariate analysis indicated that the G/A was not independently associated with liver disease, but that subjects who were older and had higher BMI were significantly more likely to have a cancer-associated liver disease.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  For patients with liver disease, a multivariate model can be used to distinguish those with a cancer-associated liver disease from those with a liver disease not associated with cancer.
authors: College of Medicine, China Medical University, No. 2, Yuh-Der Road, 404, Taichung, Taiwan.|Department of Family Medicine, China Medical University Hospital, 404, Taichung, Taiwan.
authors: Kao-Chi
authors: KC
authors: Cheng
authors: College of Medicine, China Medical University, No. 2, Yuh-Der Road, 404, Taichung, Taiwan.|Department of Family Medicine, China Medical University Hospital, 404, Taichung, Taiwan.
authors: Wen-Yuan
authors: WY
authors: Lin
authors: College of Medicine, China Medical University, No. 2, Yuh-Der Road, 404, Taichung, Taiwan.|Department of Family Medicine, China Medical University Hospital, 404, Taichung, Taiwan.
authors: Chiu-Shong
authors: CS
authors: Liu
authors: College of Medicine, China Medical University, No. 2, Yuh-Der Road, 404, Taichung, Taiwan.|Department of Family Medicine, China Medical University Hospital, 404, Taichung, Taiwan.
authors: Cheng-Chieh
authors: CC
authors: Lin
authors: School of Chinese Medicine, China Medical University, 404, Taichung, Taiwan.|Department of Internal Medicine, China Medical University Hospital, 404, Taichung, Taiwan.
authors: Hsueh-Chou
authors: HC
authors: Lai
authors: College of Medicine, China Medical University, No. 2, Yuh-Der Road, 404, Taichung, Taiwan. wei@mail.cmuh.org.tw.|Department of Family Medicine, China Medical University Hospital, 404, Taichung, Taiwan. wei@mail.cmuh.org.tw.
authors: Shih-Wei
authors: SW
authors: Lai
keywords: Cirrhosis; Fatty liver; Globulin-albumin ratio; Hemangioma; Hepatitis; Liver cyst