Relationship of hepatic steatosis and alanine aminotransferase with coronary calcification.
BACKGROUND
It has been observed that hepatic steatosis is related to an increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD). Alanine aminotransferase (ALT), an indicator of the severity of hepatic steatosis is also associated with CVD. This study focused on the relationship between hepatic steatosis and ALT with coronary calcification.


METHODS
We performed a cross-sectional study to examine the association between hepatic steatosis and serum ALT with coronary calcification in 1218 subjects (772 men, 446 women; ages 30-75 years). We evaluated hepatic steatosis and ALT as categorical variables, and constructed four groups (reference group; only with hepatic steatosis; only with ALT >30 U/L; with both hepatic steatosis and ALT >30 U/L), which did not overlap. Multi-detected row computed tomography (MDCT) was used to measure coronary calcium score.


RESULTS
The adjusted ORs (95% CIs) for coronary calcification in the four groups were 1.00 (reference), 1.24 (0.68-2.26), 1.82 (0.78-4.23), and 2.12 (1.08-4.20) after adjusting for confounding variables. In addition, an increase in serum ALT activity of 10 U/L was associated with an increased risk of coronary atherosclerosis.


CONCLUSIONS
In summary, patients with both hepatic steatosis and increases in ALT are associated with coronary calcification as a marker of coronary atherosclerosis determined by MDCT. This finding suggested that subjects with both hepatic steatosis and increased ALT should be considered for further evaluation of coronary atherosclerosis.
Department of Family Medicine, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
Dong-Hyuk
DH
Jung
Yong-Jae
YJ
Lee
Hong-Yup
HY
Ahn
Jae-Yong
JY
Shim
Hye-Ree
HR
Lee
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000410:Alanine Transaminase / Q000097:blood*; D002114:Calcinosis; D003324:Coronary Artery Disease / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005234:Fatty Liver / Q000150:complications*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged
D000410:Alanine Transaminase