Hepatic Enzymes are Associated with components of Metabolic Syndrome and Elevated ALT, GGT Predicts the Incidence of Metabolic syndrome

Recently, several population based studies have suggested concentrations of hepatic enzymes are more than the meaning of marker for liver disease and are associated with increase in the risk of cardiovascular disease including coronary heart disease. In this study we examined whether concentrations of hepatic enzymes (ALT, AST, ALP, GGT) elevated the incidence of metabolic syndrome (MS). Data were obtained from 5664 Korean men (41.83±7.47 years) and the diagnosis criteria for metabolic syndrome was used based on the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists (AACE) criteria. Hepatic enzymes were significantly correlated with components of MS (ALT vs. TG (r2=0.31, p<0.001), ALT vs. BMI (r2=0.72, p<0.001), AST vs. SBP (r2=0.16, p<0.001), AST vs. FBG (r2=0.21, p<0.001), GGT vs. SBP (r2=0.28, p<0.001), GGT vs. BMI (r2=0.61, p<0.001). In the 3 year longitudinal analysis, the predictive effect of baseline hepatic enzyme concentrations on change in MS status was evaluated using logistic regression model. 456 subjects developed MS over the course of three year follow‐up. High ALT and GGT at baseline were associated with the incident of MS (ALT: OR 2.12 [1.65–2.72], AST: OR 1.95 [1.57–2.41]). This observation indicates that elevated ALT, GGT could be suggested as a potential marker for MS by reflecting the hepatic insulin resistance as part of MS