Liver enzymes and clustering cardiometabolic risk factors in European adolescents: the HELENA study. Issue 5 (17th December 2014)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Labayen, I.; Ruiz, J. R.; Ortega, F. B.; Davis, C. L.; Rodríguez, G.; González‐Gross, M.; Breidenassel, C.; Dallongeville, J.; Marcos, A.; Widhalm, K.; Kafatos, A.; Molnar, D.; DeHenauw, S.; Gottrand, F.; Moreno, L. A.
• Is Part Of: Pediatric obesity. Volume 10:Issue 5(2015:Oct.)
• Page Start: 361
• Page End: 370
• Publication Date: 2014-12-17
• Subjects: Obesity in children -- Periodicals; Obesity in adolescence -- Periodicals; Obesity -- Periodicals; Overweight children -- Periodicals; 618.92398
• DOI: 10.1111/ijpo.273
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1747-7174

Abstract

<abstract abstract-type="main"> <title>Summary</title> <sec id="ijpo273-sec-0001" sec-type="section"> <title>Objectives</title> <p>This study aimed to explore the associations of liver biomarkers with cardiometabolic risk factors and their clustering, and to provide reference values (percentiles) and cut‐off points for liver biomarkers associated with high cardiometabolic risk in European adolescents.</p> </sec> <sec id="ijpo273-sec-0002" sec-type="section"> <title>Methods</title> <p>Alanine aminotransferase (ALT), gamma‐glutamyltransferase (GGT), aspartate aminotransferase to ALT ratio (AST/ALT), waist circumference, blood pressure, triglycerides, high‐density lipoprotein cholesterol and insulin were measured in 1084 adolescents. We computed a continuous cardiometabolic risk score and defined the high cardiometabolic risk.</p> </sec> <sec id="ijpo273-sec-0003" sec-type="section"> <title>Results</title> <p>Higher ALT and GGT and lower AST/ALT were associated with adiposity and with the number of adverse cardiometabolic risk factors (<italic>P</italic>s < 0.05). Higher GGT and lower AST/ALT were associated with higher cardiometabolic risk score (<italic>P</italic>s < 0.001) in males and females, and ALT only in males (<italic>P</italic>s < 0.001). Gender‐ and age‐specific percentiles for liver biomarkers were provided. Receiver operating characteristic analyses showed a significant discriminatory accuracy of AST/ALT in identifying the low/high cardiometabolic risk (<italic>P</italic>s < 0.01) and thresholds were provided.</p> </sec> <sec id="ijpo273-sec-0004" sec-type="section"> <title>Conclusions</title> <p>Higher GGT and lower AST/ALT are associated with higher cardiometabolic risk factors and their clustering in male and female European adolescents, whereas the associations of ALT were gender dependent. Our results suggest the usefulness of AST/ALT as a screening test in the assessment of adolescents with high cardiometabolic risk and provide gender‐ and age‐specific thresholds that might be of clinical interest.</p> </sec> </abstract>