Determination of the upper cut-off values of serum alanine aminotransferase and aspartate aminotransferase in Chinese.
OBJECTIVE
To determine the upper cut-off values of serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) in a Northern Chinese population.


METHODS
A total of 3769 subjects in Jilin Province Northeast China were stratified to determine the potential factors affecting serum ALT and AST levels. The upper cut-off values of serum ALT and AST in these subjects were determined using receiver operating characteristic analysis and their sensitivity and specificity were evaluated.


RESULTS
Stratification analysis revealed that serum ALT and AST levels were associated with gender, alcohol consumption, serum cholesterol and triglyceride levels, and body mass index. The upper cut-off values of serum ALT and AST were 22.15 U/L and 25.35 U/L for healthy men and 22.40 U/L and 24.25 U/L for healthy women, respectively. The new cut-off values had a higher sensitivity, but a slightly lower specificity than the current standards.


CONCLUSIONS
Our results indicate that the new upper cut-off values of serum ALT and AST are markedly lower than current standards and may be valuable for the evaluation of liver function.
Peng Zhang, Yu-Xiang Li, Department of Infectious Disease, the First Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun 130021, Jilin Province, China.
Peng
P
Zhang
Peng Zhang, Yu-Xiang Li, Department of Infectious Disease, the First Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun 130021, Jilin Province, China.
Chun-Yan
CY
Wang
Peng Zhang, Yu-Xiang Li, Department of Infectious Disease, the First Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun 130021, Jilin Province, China.
Yu-Xiang
YX
Li
Peng Zhang, Yu-Xiang Li, Department of Infectious Disease, the First Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun 130021, Jilin Province, China.
Yu
Y
Pan
Peng Zhang, Yu-Xiang Li, Department of Infectious Disease, the First Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun 130021, Jilin Province, China.
Jun-Qi
JQ
Niu
Peng Zhang, Yu-Xiang Li, Department of Infectious Disease, the First Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun 130021, Jilin Province, China.
Shu-Mei
SM
He
D000328:Adult; D000410:Alanine Transaminase / Q000097:blood*; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000097:blood; D019540:Area Under Curve; D044466:Asian People; D001219:Aspartate Aminotransferases / Q000097:blood*; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D015992:Body Mass Index; D002681:China; D002784:Cholesterol / Q000097:blood; D004796:Clinical Enzyme Tests; D005260:Female; D064368:Healthy Volunteers; D006801:Humans; D008111:Liver Function Tests; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012372:ROC Curve; D012016:Reference Values; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012737:Sex Factors; D014280:Triglycerides / Q000097:blood
D015415:Biomarkers; D014280:Triglycerides; D002784:Cholesterol; D001219:Aspartate Aminotransferases; D000410:Alanine Transaminase
Alanine aminotransferase; Aspartate aminotransferase; Northern Chinese population; Serum alanine aminotransferase and aspartate aminotransferase; Upper cut-off value