PNPLA3 and Hepatic fibrosis: Since BMI was independently associated with hepatic fibrosis and cirrhosis in these analyses, we therefore also stratified CHC patients according to BMI status into obese (BMI ≥ 25) and non-obese (BMI < 25) sub-groups and analyzed for any potential genetic associations of PNPLA3 and TM6SF2 variants.