Body Adiposity, But Not Elements of Objectively Measured Sedentary Behavior or Physical Activity, Is Associated With Circulating Liver Enzymes in Adults With Overweight and Obesity

Abstract

ObjectiveWe studied the associations between accelerometer-measured sedentary behavior (SB) and habitual physical activity (PA) as well as markers of body adiposity and other cardiometabolic risk factors with liver enzymes alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and γ-glutamyltransferase (GGT).MethodsA total of 144 middle-aged adults (mean age 57 (SD 6.5) years) with overweight or obesity (mean body mass index [BMI] 31.8 [SD 3.9] kg/m2) participated. Different components of SB (sitting, lying) and PA (standing, breaks in SB, daily steps, light PA, moderate-to-vigorous PA and total PA) were measured with validated hip-worn accelerometers for four consecutive weeks (mean 25 days, [SD 4]). Fasting venous blood samples were analysed using standard assays. The associations were examined with Pearson’s partial correlation coefficient test and linear mixed model.ResultsAmong 102 women and 42 men accelerometer measured SB or the elements of PA were not associated with circulating liver enzymes. When adjusted for age and sex, liver enzymes correlated positively with BMI and waist circumference (WC) (ALT r=0.34, p<0.0001, r=0.41, < 0.0001, AST r=0.17, p=0.049, r=0.26, p=0.002, GGT r=0.29, p=0.0005, r=0.32, p < 0.0001, respectively). SB proportion associated positively with BMI (r=0.21, p=0.008) and WC (r=0.27, p=0.001). Components of PA associated negatively with BMI (MVPA r=-0.23, p=0.005, daily steps r=-0.30, p<0.0001 and breaks in sedentary time r=-0.32, p<0.0001), as well as with WC (breaks in SB r=-0.35, p<0.0001, MVPA r=-0.26, p=0.002, daily steps r=-0.31, p<0.0001, standing time r=-0.27, p=0.001). Liver enzymes associated positively with common cardiometabolic markers such as resting heart rate (ALT; β=0.17, p=0.03, AST; β=0.25, p=0.002, GGT; β=0.23, p=0.004) and systolic/diastolic blood pressure (ALT β=0.20, p=0.01, β=0.22, p=0.005, AST (only diastolic) β=0.23, p=0.006, GGT β=0.19, p=0.02, = 0.23, p=0.004, respectively), fasting insulin (ALT β=0.41, p<0.0001, AST β=0.36, p=0.0003, GGT β=0.20, p=0.04) and insulin resistance index (ALT β=0.42, p<0.0001, AST β=0.36, p=0.0003, GGT β=0.21, p=0.03), even after adjustment with BMI.ConclusionsLiver enzymes correlate with body adiposity and appear to cluster with other common cardiometabolic risk factors, even independently of body adiposity. SB and PA appear not to be essential in modulating the levels of circulating liver enzymes.

Cross-Sectional Associations of Body Adiposity, Sedentary Behavior, and Physical Activity with Hemoglobin and White Blood Cell Count

“…As previously reported [ 27 , 28 ], the participants in this study were recruited from the local community by newspaper advertisements and bulletin leaflets. Inclusion criteria were the following: age 40–65 years, BMI 25–40 kg/m 2 and self-reported insufficient physical activity to meet the current recommendations at the time and sitting for major proportion of the day.…”

“…Moreover, they were advised to maintain their usual physical activity habits during the measurement. During the 4-week measurement period, the participants were asked to visit the laboratory once for fasting venous blood samples at their most convenient time [ 27 , 28 ].…”

“…Participants chose the hour of the day according to their convenience. As previously reported [ 27 , 28 ], blood pressure and resting heart rate were measured with a digital blood pressure monitor (Apteq AE701f, Rossmax International Ltd., Taipei, Taiwan) in a seated position after at least 10 min of sitting. The mean of 2 to 3 measurements was used as the outcome measure.…”

“…SB and PA were measured for four consecutive weeks with a hip-worn triaxial accelerometer (UKK AM30, UKK-Institute, Tampere, Finland), as reported and described in detail in our previous publications [ 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 ].…”

“…Wear times of 10–19 h/day and at least four days of measurements were considered valid. The accelerometer data analysis methods are described in more detail in our previous publications [ 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 ].…”