title: Association between serum gamma-glutamyltransferase and the progression of coronary artery calcification.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Elevated serum gamma-glutamyltransferase (GGT) has been demonstrated to be associated with coronary artery calcification (CAC). CAC progression is an important marker of atherosclerosis and correlates with future cardiovascular risk. However, there is a lack of research that directly examines the association between serum GGT and CAC progression. The aim of this study was to elucidate the association between serum GGT activity and CAC progression.
  
  
  METHODS
  We enrolled 1246 asymptomatic participants who underwent repeated CAC score measurement during routine health examinations. To eliminate the dependence of the inter scan variability on the baseline CAC scores, square root-transformed CAC scores were used to analyze CAC progression. In addition, the annualized rate of change in CAC scores was computed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Serum GGT activities were significantly higher in "progressors" than "nonprogressors". The prevalence of progression increased with the GGT tertile (11.9%, 20.1% and 27.9% in the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd GGT tertiles, respectively; p < 0.001). In the multivariate logistic regression analysis, the odds ratio (95% confidence interval) for CAC score progression was 1.85 (1.14-3.00) in the highest GGT tertile group. By multivariate linear regression analysis, baseline serum GGT activity demonstrated a positive association with the annualized change in CAC score (β = 0.002; p = 0.006) after adjusting for cardiovascular risk factors.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Elevated serum GGT levels are independently associated with CAC progression. Serum GGT levels may be a potential biomarker of future coronary atherosclerosis and prognosis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Yun Kyung
authors.initials: YK
authors.lastname: Cho
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Yu Mi
authors.initials: YM
authors.lastname: Kang
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Screening and Promotion Center, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Jenie Yoonoo
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Hwang
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Screening and Promotion Center, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Eun Hee
authors.initials: EH
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Dong Hyun
authors.initials: DH
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Joon-Won
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Kang
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Joong-Yeol
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Park
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Woo Je
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Screening and Promotion Center, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea. Electronic address: hkkim0801@amc.seoul.kr.
authors.forename: Hong-Kyu
authors.initials: HK
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea. Electronic address: chjung0204@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Chang Hee
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Jung
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D003324:Coronary Artery Disease / Q000097:blood*; D003331:Coronary Vessels / Q000473:pathology; D018450:Disease Progression; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D011379:Prognosis; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D061205:Vascular Calcification / Q000097:blood*; D005723:gamma-Glutamyltransferase / Q000097:blood*
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D005723:gamma-Glutamyltransferase
keywords: Coronary calcification; Coronary heart disease; Gamma-glutamyltransferase; Progression