Interestingly, it was also observed that I148M carrier frequency was highest in Hispanic populations who are thought to have highest susceptibility to NAFLD, and regression analysis demonstrated that the presence or absence of this PNPLA3 variant along with another (453I) accounted for 72% of the observed ethnic differences in levels of hepatic steatosis from the Dallas Heart Study. Here, PNPLA3 is linked to fatty liver disease.