Data Sheet 1_MAFLD is linked to lower HBV DNA levels in chronic hepatitis B: clinical and transcriptomic insights.docx

We aimed to investigate the association between MAFLD and HBV DNA levels and to provide biological context through integrative transcriptomic analyses.</p>Methods<p>We analyzed a large retrospective cohort of patients with CHB and assessed the association between MAFLD and serum HBV DNA levels using linear regression models.

HBV DNA was analyzed as a continuous outcome after log10 transformation. To provide molecular context for the clinical findings, weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) was performed in an independent HBV liver transcriptomic dataset to identify HBV-associated host co-expression modules. These modules were subsequently characterized in independent liver transcriptomic datasets representing distinct metabolic and histological liver contexts using single-sample gene set enrichment analysis (ssGSEA).</p>Results<p>MAFLD was independently associated with lower circulating HBV DNA levels.