Table 5.

Association of liver enzyme function with alcohol consumption level (Deciles and g/day) by three different methods of alcohol intake estimation among female adults. NHANES 2001–2010^a

		24-h recall	Usual intake by NCI method	Alcohol intake questionnaire
		Regression coefficientb
Alkaline phosphatase (ALP), U/L
	N	10,387	10,387	9498
By Decile	Linear	36.96/−0.21	38.96/−0.25	38.16/−0.54*
	Curvilinear	ns	32.91/1.73/−0.17#	ns
By g/day	Linear	37.31/−0.33	37.79/−0.42	37.73/−0.94*
	Curvilinear	ns	ns	41.56/−3.92/0.46#
Alanine aminotransferase (ALT), U/L
	N	10,359	10,359	9473
By Decile	Linear	10.77/0.13	8.58/0.28*	10.55/0.004
	Curvilinear	ns	ns	ns
By g/day	Linear	10.57/0.19	10.09/0.35	10.05/0.27
	Curvilinear	ns	ns	ns
Aspartate aminotransferase (AST), U/L
	N	10,358	10,358	9472
By Decile	Linear	18.10/0.34*	15.88/0.28*	16.62/0.21*
	Curvilinear	ns	ns	17.15/−0.29/0.06#
By g/day	Linear	17.58/0.50*	16.49/0.83*	15.78/0.88*
	Curvilinear	ns	ns	ns
Gamma glutamyl transferase (GGT), U/L
	N	10,387	10,387	9498
By Decile	Linear	0.04/0.99*	−7.01/0.89*	−2.16/0.67*
	Curvilinear	ns	ns	−0.44/−0.96/0.19#
By g/day	Linear	−1.49/1.47*	−4.76/2.47*	−4.73/2.77*
	Curvilinear	ns	ns	ns
Bilirubin (mg/dl)
	N	10,382	10,382	9493
By Decile	Linear	0.83/0.005*	0.81/0.002	0.81/0.01*
	Curvilinear	ns	0.86/−0.02/0.001#	ns
By g/day	Linear	0.82/0.01*	0.81/0.01	0.81/0.01*
	Curvilinear	ns	0.73/0.06/−0.01#	0.78/0.04/−0.004#

^aRegression analyses examining linear and/or quadratic effect of alcohol intake conducted with the following covariates: age, race/ethnicity, current smoking status (yes/no), poverty income ratio, physical activity level (sedentary, moderate, or vigorous based on feedback on questions on activity), energy intake, and body mass index. ^bβ₀/β₁ for Linear Trend and β₀/β₁/β₂ for Curvilinear Trend (β₀: intercept, β₁: linear regression coefficient, and β₂: curvilinear regression coefficient); * Significant Linear Trend at P < 0.01; ^# Significant Curvilinear Trend at P < 0.01; N Sample Size; ns Non-significant Curvilinear Trend