Additionally, as shown in Fig. 2a-c, serum SHBG concentrations exhibited significant differences between non-NAFLD subjects and NAFLD patients regardless of sex (median, 67.9 nmol/L versus 45.6 nmol/L in females; 54.8 nmol/L versus 40.6 nmol/L in males), BMI (median, 67.6 nmol/L versus 49.0 nmol/L in subjects with BMI < 24 kg/m2; 51.7 nmol/L versus 40.2 nmol/L in subjects with BMI ≥ 24 kg/m2) and HOMA-IR status (median, 66.3 nmol/L versus 49.7 nmol/L in subjects with HOMA-IR < 2; 52.3 nmol/L versus 38.8 nmol/L in subjects with HOMA-IR ≥ 2) (all p <  0.001). The gene discussed is SHBG; the disease is metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease.