Comparison of Alanine Aminotransferase, White Blood Cell Count, and Uric Acid in Their Association with Metabolic Syndrome: A Study of Korean Adults

Abstract

Abstract. The aim of this study is to investigate the respective associations of alanine aminotransferase (ALT), white blood cell (WBC) count, and uric acid with metabolic syndrome and compare the magnitude in their association with metabolic syndrome, using modified Adult Treatment Panel III (ATP III) and its components. We studies 5,020 Korean adults (20-70 years of age; 2,501 men and 2,519 women) who visited Center for Health Promotion in Pusan National University Hospital for routine health examinations. Metabolic parameters and biochemical markers including ALT, WBC count, and uric acid were obtained. Alcohol intake, smoking status, and the presence of fatty liver were also evaluated. The prevalence of metabolic syndrome was 17.3%. In the partial correlation coefficients adjusted for age, alcohol consumption, smoking status, and presence of fatty liver, ALT was correlated significantly with all components of metabolic syndrome among three markers in men and women respectively. Moreover, ALT showed the highest correlation with HOMA-IR (r = 0.311, P<0.001 in men and r = 0.285, P<0.001 in women) in both genders. With the increase in the number of metabolic syndrome components, the mean values of all three markers were also significantly increased. In addition, the adjusted mean values of each marker were all significantly increased in metabolic syndrome. In ALT, the adjusted mean values were significantly increased in subjects with all metabolic component disorders. When we calculated odd ratios (ORs) for metabolic syndrome prevalence of the highest quartiles in three markers using multivariate logistic regression analyses, ALT was associated most strongly with metabolic syndrome in both genders (OR 5.65 [95% CI, 3.80 to 8.40]; P<0.001 in men, OR 3.23 [95% CI, 2.15 to 4.86]; P<0.001 in women). The cut-off value for ALT using the ROC curve was 27 IU/L (area under the curve = 0.717, sensitivity 62.5%, specificity 70.4%, P<0.001) in men and 18 IU/L (area under the curve = 0.735, sensitivity 61.3%, specificity 72.3%, P<0.001) in women. In conclusion, ALT, WBC count, and uric acid play important role as an additional markers for metabolic syndrome. Among three markers, in overlap the multiple risk factors, ALT might have a strong association with metabolic syndrome in Korean adults.

Association of uric acid with traditional inflammatory factors in stroke

“…In this study, TC and HDL eventually enter into the linear regression models, which is most likely result from that TC and HDL may be more relevant with stroke in Asian populations. UA was significantly and independently associated with neutrophil, WBC counts, and with HDL-C, which plays an important role in inflammation and atherosclerosis not only in general population [29,46,47] but also in subclinical thoracic atherosclerosis [4] and metabolic syndrome [5]. Consistent with previous studies, increased levels of UA showed higher concentrations of neutrophils and WBCs, except for those in the grade 1 group.…”

“…Recent clinical and experimental studies of a large population-based sample have shown that UA is correlated positively and significantly with inflammatory markers such as neutrophils, C-reactive protein (CRP), and high-sensitivity CRP (hs-CRP) [2,3]. Some clinical studies demonstrated that UA with white blood cells (WBCs), hs-CRP, and some lipoprotein was indepen-dently and positively associated with subclinical thoracic atherosclerosis [4] and metabolic syndrome [5].…”

Use of white blood cell counts to predict metabolic syndrome in the elderly: a 4 year longitudinal study

“…Gkrania-Klotsas et al reported that the combined relative risk (comparing the top to bottom tertiles of the WBC counts) was 1.61 (95% CI: 1.45-1.79, p50.001) [9]. In addition, Kang et al [28] found that WBC count significantly correlated with HOMA-IR in Korean adult women. Possible mechanisms underlying this phenomena may include interruptions in insulin signaling in the liver by inflammatory molecules such as IL-6 [29] or a pro-inflammatory effect on insulin [30], or insulin resistance [31,32].…”

Correlación entre Índice de Masa Corporal y Circunferencia de Cintura en una Muestra de Niños, Adolescentes y Adultos con Discapacidad de Temuco, Chile

“…El impacto del sedentarismo en la población no deja de ser importante, considerando que es una de las condicionantes que contribuye a que por medio del bajo gasto energético de un individuo, en conjunto con ingestas alimentarias normales o elevadas, se provoque un desbalance energético que se puede traducir en alteraciones del estado de salud, como la malnutrición por exceso. Todo esto recrudece el impacto en la comunidad, originado de la pandemia en que se ha convertido la obesidad (Buhring et al, 2009), y el denominado síndrome metabólico , que comprende un conjunto de factores de riesgo tales como; Dislipidemias, tensión arterial elevada, resistencia a la insulina, obesidad abdominal que incrementan el riesgo de enfermedad cardiovascular (Kang et al, 2008), constituyendo un estado de alto riesgo de morbilidad y mortalidad por enfermedades del corazón y diabetes, y las personas sedentarias son particularmente susceptibles a padecerlo. Aunque a nivel nacional e internacional se han desarrollado diversas investigaciones respecto a la valoración antropométrica de distintas poblaciones y rangos etáreos, es importante continuar desarrollando estudios que permitan evidenciar lo que sucede con una población generalmente no considerada y que permita desarrollar conocimiento relevante para la toma de decisiones frente a las políticas de salud o educación referidas al sedentarismo, el sobrepeso y la obesidad de las personas con discapacidad.…”

“…El impacto del sedentarismo en la población no deja de ser importante, considerando que es una de las condicionantes que contribuye a que por medio del bajo gasto energético de un individuo, en conjunto con ingestas alimentarias normales o elevadas, se provoque un desbalance energético que se puede traducir en alteraciones del estado de salud, como la malnutrición por exceso. Todo esto recrudece el impacto en la comunidad, originado de la pandemia en que se ha convertido la obesidad (Buhring et al, 2009), y el denominado síndrome metabólico , que comprende un conjunto de factores de riesgo tales como; Dislipidemias, tensión arterial elevada, resistencia a la insulina, obesidad abdominal que incrementan el riesgo de enfermedad cardiovascular (Kang et al, 2008), constituyendo un estado de alto riesgo de morbilidad y mortalidad por enfermedades del corazón y diabetes, y las personas sedentarias son particularmente susceptibles a padecerlo. …”