BACKGROUND: The objective of this study was to determine if there is an association between serum hepatic markers and the metabolic syndrome in postmenopausal women. METHODS: This study involved 1229 postmenopausal women aged 44-85 years, who visited the Center for Health Promotion for a health check-up. We excluded subjects from the analysis if they had a daily alcohol consumption of more than 1.5 drinks (alcohol consumption ≥20 g/day) or had chronic viral hepatitis. We also excluded subjects who had abnormal hepatic function, as defined by serum aspartate aminotransferase (AST) or alanine aminotransferase (ALT) >100 IU/L, serum γ-glutamyltransferase (GGT) >100 IU/L, or serum total bilirubin concentrations >2 mg/dL. RESULTS: Serum ALT and GGT concentrations increased in proportion to the number of elements of the metabolic syndrome (p<0.01). However, total bilirubin concentrations decreased (p=0.01). After adjusting for age, body mass index, and the presence of fatty liver in the patients with metabolic syndrome, the odds ratios (95% confidence interval) were 1.38 (0.89-2.15) for log (ALT), 1.69 (1.30-2.20) for log (GGT), and 0.53 (0.33-0.86) for log (total bilirubin). CONCLUSIONS: We found that an increase in GGT and a decrease in total bilirubin was associated with metabolic syndrome in postmenopausal women. Hepatic enzymes could be proposed as simple clinical metabolic markers that identify the metabolic syndrome.
BACKGROUND: The objective of this study was to determine if there is an association between serum hepatic markers and the metabolic syndrome in postmenopausal women. METHODS: This study involved 1229 postmenopausal women aged 44-85 years, who visited the Center for Health Promotion for a health check-up. We excluded subjects from the analysis if they had a daily alcohol consumption of more than 1.5 drinks (alcohol consumption ≥20 g/day) or had chronic viral hepatitis. We also excluded subjects who had abnormal hepatic function, as defined by serum aspartate aminotransferase (AST) or alanine aminotransferase (ALT) >100 IU/L, serum γ-glutamyltransferase (GGT) >100 IU/L, or serum total bilirubin concentrations >2 mg/dL. RESULTS: Serum ALT and GGT concentrations increased in proportion to the number of elements of the metabolic syndrome (p<0.01). However, total bilirubin concentrations decreased (p=0.01). After adjusting for age, body mass index, and the presence of fatty liver in the patients with metabolic syndrome, the odds ratios (95% confidence interval) were 1.38 (0.89-2.15) for log (ALT), 1.69 (1.30-2.20) for log (GGT), and 0.53 (0.33-0.86) for log (total bilirubin). CONCLUSIONS: We found that an increase in GGT and a decrease in total bilirubin was associated with metabolic syndrome in postmenopausal women. Hepatic enzymes could be proposed as simple clinical metabolic markers that identify the metabolic syndrome.
Authors: Damon L Swift; Neil M Johannsen; Conrad P Earnest; Steven N Blair; Timothy S Church Journal: Med Sci Sports Exerc Date: 2012-04 Impact factor: 5.411