Table 2.
Clinical and laboratory characteristics of the subjects with normal BMI and without any component of the metabolic syndrome, according to the tertile of liver enzyme concentrations (left); associations of the variables listed with liver enzyme levels, as a continuous variable, by unadjusted linear regression analyses (right)
| AST | 1st tertile (≤13 U/L) | 2nd tertile (>13≤17 U/L) | 3rd tertile (>17 U/L) | β; 95%CI | ||
| Number | 67 | 69 | 69 | |||
| Age (yr) | 52.2±5.5 | 52.5±5.7 | 52.1±5.1 | 0.001;-0.16 | 0.16 | |
| Male (%) | 22.4 | 34.8 | 42.0 | 0.8; -1.0 | 2.6 | |
| Alcoholics (%) | 47.8 | 47.8 | 56.5 | 1.2; -0.5 | 2.9 | |
| Alcohol (g/day within drinkers) | 15.5±9.1 | 13.8±9.0 | 18.5±9.1 | 0.05; -0.07 | 0.18 | |
| Ever smokers (%) | 47.8 | 39.1 | 44.9 | -0.63;-2.35 | 1.09 | |
| BMI (kg/m2) | 21.8±2.0 | 22.1±1.9 | 22.1±2.1 | 0.07;-0.35 | 0.49 | |
| Waist (cm) | 76.3±8.1 | 78.4±7.8 | 75.3±5.6 | 0.08;-0.02 | 0.18 | |
| Systolic blood pressure (mmHg) | 117.4±7.7 | 116.7±7.4 | 116.6±9.1 | -0.05;-0.15 | 0.05 | |
| Diastolic blood pressure (mmHg) | 74.9±6.0 | 75.1±5.8 | 75.3±5.6 | -0.01;-0.16 | 0.14 | |
| Uric acid (mmol/L) | 154.6±47.6 | 160.6±41.6 | 172.5±53.5 | 0.014;-0.004 | 0.03 | |
| Insulin (pmol/L) | 6.0 (0.6-49.2) | 9.6 (1.2-108.6) | 9.0 (3.0-72.0) | 0.41;-0.90 | 1.72 | |
| HOMA insulin resistance (mU/mL´mmol/L) | 0.25 (0.02-2.08) | 0.34 (0.05-5.40) | 0.30 (0.10-2.28) | 0.48;-0.85 | 1.81 | |
| Fasting glucose (mmol/L) | 5.1±0.4 | 5.1±0.5 | 5.2±0.7 | 0.84;-0.68 | 2.36 | |
| HDL-cholesterol (mmol/L) | 1.8±0.3 | 1.7±0.4 | 1.8±0.3 | 1.73;-0.73 | 4.19 | |
| Triglycerides (mmol/L) | 1.0 (0.5-1.7) | 1.1 (0.6-1.7) | 1.0 (0.4-1.7) | -0.48;-3.65 | 2.69 | |
| Hs-CRP (mg/L) | 0.80 (0.10-20.0) | 0.60 (0.20-12.6) | 0.70 (0.20-8.90) | -0.16;-0.96 | 0.64 | |
| ALT | 1st tertile (≤12 U/L) | 2nd tertile (>12≤17 U/L) | 3rd tertile (>17 U/L) | β; 95%CI | ||
| Number | 66 | 67 | 72 | |||
| Age (yr) | 51.9±5.5 | 52.3±5.4 | 52.6±5.5 | -0.04; -0.29 | 0.21 | |
| Male (%) | 15.1 | 35.8 | 47.2 | 4.43; 1.57 | 7.29 | |
| Alcoholics (%) | 45.4 | 50.7 | 55.6 | 2.02; -0.72 | 4.76 | |
| Alcohol (g/day within drinkers) | 14.8±9.3 | 16.7±9.1 | 16.6±9.4 | 0.03; -0.2 | 0.26 | |
| Ever smokers (%) | 47.0 | 46.3 | 38.9 | -1.10; -3.86 | 1.66 | |
| BMI (kg/m2) | 21.8±2.1 | 21.5±2.1 | 22.6±1.7 | 0.55; -0.13 | 1.23 | |
| Waist (cm) | 76.8±7.2 | 75.4±8.8 | 81.2±7.3 | 0.23; 0.07 | 0.39 | |
| Systolic blood pressure (mmHg) | 115.2±9.0 | 117.4±6.3 | 117.9±8.4 | 0.09; -0.08 | 0.26 | |
| Diastolic blood pressure (mmHg) | 75.3±6.3 | 74.0±5.3 | 75.9±5.7 | 0.15; -0.08 | 0.38 | |
| Uric acid (mmol/L) | 154.6±41.6 | 160.6±53.5 | 172.5±47.6 | 0.035; 0.008 | 0.06 | |
| Insulin (pmol/L) | 7.5 (0.6-108.6) | 9.6 (2.4-49.2) | 8.4 (1.2-72.0) | 1.24; -0.88 | 3.36 | |
| HOMA insulin resistance (mU/mL´mmol/L) | 0.29 (0.02-5.40) | 0.34 (0.09-2.08) | 0.30 (0.05-2.56) | 1.41; -0.73 | 3.54 | |
| Fasting glucose (mmol/L) | 5.2±0.6 | 5.0±0.5 | 5.2±0.6 | 1.43; -1.02 | 3.88 | |
| HDL-cholesterol (mmol/L) | 1.8±0.3 | 1.7±0.4 | 1.7±0.4 | -2.07; -6.05 | 1.91 | |
| Triglycerides (mmol/L) | 0.9 (0.5-1.7) | 1.0 (0.4-1.5) | 1.0 (0.4-1.7) | 0.91; -4.22 | 6.04 | |
| Hs-CRP (mg/L) | 0.80 (0.10-20.0) | 0.50 (0.20-17.8) | 0.95 (0.20-12.6) | 1.15; -0.12 | 2.42 | |
| GGT | 1st tertile (≤10 U/L) | 2nd tertile (>10≤16 U/L) | 3rd tertile (>16 U/L) | β; 95%CI | ||
| Number | 68 | 71 | 66 | |||
| Age (yr) | 51.7±5.2 | 52.3±5.6 | 52.8±5.5 | 0.009; -0.008 | 0.026 | |
| Male (%) | 17.6 | 29.6 | 53.0 | 0.48; 0.29 | 0.66 | |
| Alcoholics (%) | 36.8 | 54.9 | 60.6 | 0.24; 0.06 | 0.42 | |
| Alcohol (g/day within drinkers) | 11.2±7.9 | 16.6±8.6 | 18.6±9.6 | 0.012; -0.002 | 0.026 | |
| Ever smokers (%) | 35.3 | 45.1 | 51.5 | 0.14; -0.05 | 0.33 | |
| BMI (kg/m2) | 21.7±1.9 | 22.0±2.0 | 22.3±2.1 | 0.034; -0.012 | 0.08 | |
| Waist (cm) | 76.4±7.2 | 76.4±8.6 | 81.1±7.7 | 0.19; 0.18 | 0.20 | |
| Systolic blood pressure (mmHg) | 116.0±9.0 | 117.3±6.3 | 117.4±8.7 | 0.008;-0.004 | 0.02 | |
| Diastolic blood pressure (mmHg) | 74.6±6.3 | 74.9±5.7 | 75.8±5.4 | 0.012;-0.004 | 0.03 | |
| Uric acid (mmol/L) | 148.7±35.7 | 166.5±41.6 | 178.4±59.5 | 0.004; 0.002 | 0.006 | |
| Insulin (pmol/L) | 9.6 (3.0-72.0) | 9.0 (0.6-63.6) | 8.4 (1.2-108.6) | 0.004;-0.14 | 0.14 | |
| HOMA insulin resistance (mU/mL´mmol/L) | 0.34 (0.10-2.28) | 0.30 (0.02-2.56) | 0.30 (0.04-5.40) | 0.047; -0.09 | 0.18 | |
| Fasting glucose (mmol/L) | 4.8±0.4 | 5.1±0.5 | 5.5±0.5 | 0.35; 0.19 | 0.51 | |
| HDL-cholesterol (mmol/L) | 1.8±0.3 | 1.7±0.3 | 1.7±0.4 | -0.12; -0.39 | 0.15 | |
| Triglycerides (mmol/L) | 0.9 (0.4-1.5) | 1.0 (0.4-1.7) | 1.1 (0.7-1.7) | 0.52; 0.19 | 0.85 | |
| Hs-CRP (mg/L) | 0.50 (0.20-8.30) | 0.80 (0.10-8.90) | 0.95 (0.20-20.0) | 0.21; 0.13 | 0.29 |
Median (range) is reported for not-normally distributed variables; their log-transformed values and log-GGT values are used in the analyses.