Korean J Nutr.  2009 Dec;42(8):732-739.

Relationship between Elevated Serum Alanine Aminotransferase Concentration and Metabolic Syndrome in Korean Adults

• Kim JH

Abstract

Metabolic syndrome has been strongly associated with elevated alanine aminotransferase (ALT), a surrogate of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. We investigated the relationship between metabolic syndrome and elevated ALT in the general Korean population. The study sample was comprised of 4,781 Korean adults who had participated in the 2005 Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Metabolic syndrome was defined by National Cholesterol Education Program for Adult Treatment Panel III. Elevated ALT was defined as an enzyme activity > 40 IU/L for men, and > 31 IU/L for women. ALT was measured by enzymatic methods. Among participants, 425 (8.9%) subjects displayed elevated ALT. The odds ratios (ORs) for elevated ALT increased in subjects with obesity or one of components of metabolic syndrome such as abdominal obesity, high blood pressure, high fasting glucose, high triglyceride, and low HDL cholesterol after adjusting for age and sex. The unadjusted OR for elevated ALT increased according to the number of components of metabolic syndrome (OR = 1.5, 95% CI: 0.96-2.32 for 1 component; OR = 3.0, 95% CI: 1.98-4.61 for 2 components; OR = 6.3, 95% CI: 4.29-9.35 for > or = 3 components; p for trend < 0.0001). This trend did not differ after adjustments for putative risk factors including age, sex, BMI, smoking status, and alcohol intake. Metabolic syndrome is implicated as a strong risk factor of elevated ALT in Korean adults.

Keyword

metabolic syndrome; alanine aminotransferase; nonalcoholic fatty liver disease; Korean adults

MeSH Terms

Adult
Alanine
Alanine Transaminase
Cholesterol
Cholesterol, HDL
Fasting
Fatty Liver
Female
Glucose
Humans
Hypertension
Male
Nutrition Surveys
Obesity
Obesity, Abdominal
Odds Ratio
Risk Factors
Smoke
Smoking
Alanine
Alanine Transaminase
Cholesterol
Cholesterol, HDL
Fatty Liver
Glucose
Smoke

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