title: Glucose intolerance and serum aminotransferase activities in Japanese men.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Elevated activities of serum aminotransferase are commonly observed in patients with diabetes mellitus. Few studies have addressed the relation between glucose intolerance and serum activities of aminotransferase in free-living populations.
  
  
  METHODS
  Using a 75 g oral glucose tolerance test, we examined the association of impaired fasting glycemia (IFG), impaired glucose tolerance (IGT), and type 2 diabetes mellitus with serum aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), and gamma-glutamyltransferase (GGT) among 4621 men aged 49-59 years of the Japan Self-Defense Forces. Statistical adjustment was made for body mass index, waist-hip ratio, and other possible confounding factors.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Proportions of an elevated ALT (>50 IU/l) in men with normal glucose tolerance, IFG, IGT, and newly diagnosed diabetes mellitus were 3.5%, 9.5%, 7.7%, and 18.0%, respectively. Adjusted odds ratios of an elevated ALT for IFG, IGT, and newly diagnosed diabetes mellitus were 2.2 (95% confidence interval 1.1-4.3), 1.7 (1.2-2.4), and 4.4 (3.0-6.6), respectively. IGT and diabetes mellitus were also significantly positively associated with elevated AST (>40 IU/l) and GGT (>50 IU/l).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Glucose intolerance is associated with elevated serum aminotransferase independent of obesity, but even a mildly elevated ALT is relatively uncommon in free-living men with glucose intolerance.
authors.affiliation: Department of Preventive Medicine, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka 812-8582, Japan.
authors.forename: Yumi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Miyake
authors.forename: Hiroyuki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Eguchi
authors.forename: Koichi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Shinchi
authors.forename: Takashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Oda
authors.forename: Shizuka
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sasazuki
authors.forename: Suminori
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kono
mesh_terms: D000410:Alanine Transaminase / Q000097:blood*; D044466:Asian People; D001219:Aspartate Aminotransferases / Q000097:blood*; D001786:Blood Glucose / Q000032:analysis; D003920:Diabetes Mellitus / Q000097:blood / Q000503:physiopathology; D005215:Fasting / Q000097:blood; D018149:Glucose Intolerance; D005951:Glucose Tolerance Test; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016017:Odds Ratio; D005723:gamma-Glutamyltransferase / Q000097:blood*
chemical_list: D001786:Blood Glucose; D005723:gamma-Glutamyltransferase; D001219:Aspartate Aminotransferases; D000410:Alanine Transaminase