Relationship between response of gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase to alcohol drinking and risk factors for coronary heart disease.

Alcohol drinking has been reported to influence the risk factors for coronary heart disease (CHD), such as the serum levels of triglycerides, HDL-cholesterol and uric acid, and the level of blood pressure. To examine whether there was individual variability in the response of these parameters to alcohol drinking, a cross-sectional study was conducted in 3130 men with a body-mass index (BMI) below 24. The subjects were divided into two groups; a normal gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase (rGTP) (<40 IU/l) group and a high rGTP (> or =40 IU/l) group, and the values were compared after adjusted for age, BMI, exercise and smoking. The level of triglycerides increased according to the amount of drinking in the high rGTP group, whereas no association was observed in the normal rGTP group. The level of HDL-cholesterol increased with drinking in the normal and high rGTP groups, and no difference was observed in the levels of HDL-cholesterol between the two groups. The levels of uric acid and blood pressure also increased with drinking in both groups, but the increase was bigger in the high rGTP group than in the normal rGTP group. The results indicated that there was large individual variability in the responses of the risk factors for coronary heart disease to drinking. Subjects whose rGTP responds less to drinking may have less disadvantageous effects of drinking.