Relation of Gamma-Glutamyltransferase and Alcohol Drinking with Incident Diabetes: the HIPOP-OHP Study

Abstract

Aim: Gamma-glutamyltransferase (GGT) is known to correlate well with alcohol consumption; however, the relation between GGT and diabetes and that between alcohol consumption and diabetes mellitus (DM) is inconsistent. Thus, several questions, such as whether light to moderate drinkers can be considered as low risk for diabetes incidence irrespective of their GGT level, is unresolved. In this study, we investigated the relation of GGT or alcohol drinking with DM incidence considering the body mass index (BMI) in healthy Japanese workers. Methods: We followed 3095 men who did not have DM at baseline for 4 years. Incident diabetes was defined as a fasting (non-fasting) plasma glucose level of ≥ 7.0 (11.1) mmol/L, or treatment of diabetes. Multiple adjusted hazard ratios (HR) were calculated using Cox proportional models. Results: Participants with higher GGT (GGT ≥ 27 IU/L) showed an increased risk of diabetes incidence even when their BMI level was low. Although a U-shaped relation between alcohol drinking and incident diabetes was observed, the risk to light to moderate drinkers (alcohol 23 g/day) was not low if they were either overweight (BMI ≥ 25 kg/m 2 ) or had higher GGT (HR 2.60, p 0.08) or both overweight and higher GGT (HR 3.16, p 0.07) compared with never drinkers without higher GGT and overweight. Conclusions: Higher GGT was associated with a higher incidence of DM irrespective of drinking status or obesity. Although a U-shaped relation between alcohol drinking and incident diabetes was observed, the risk to light to moderate drinkers was not low if they were either overweight or had higher GGT.

Serum lactate levels are associated with serum alanine aminotransferase and total bilirubin levels in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus: A cross-sectional study

“…In addition, some previous studies already showed that higher c-GTP levels were associated with onset of diabetes [41][42][43] and c-GTP increased in patients with nonalcoholic steatohepatitis [44,45]. However, there was no correlation between the serum lactate levels with the serum c-GTP levels in the current study.…”

Comparison of the Impact of Changes in Waist Circumference and Body Mass Index in Relation to Changes in Serum Gamma-Glutamyltransferase Levels

“…P＜0.05 was taken to be significant. obesity, in a four-year follow-up study 4) , suggesting that GGT may be an independent predictor of metabolic syndrome.…”

Gamma-glutamyltransferase to Determine Cardiovascular Risk: Shifting the Paradigm Forward

“…Several population-based investigations have noted relatively independent cross-sectional and prospective associations between serum GGT levels and certain cardiovascular risk factors [8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16] . Most of these studies refer to 'normal' serum GGT levels, which would otherwise raise no specific health concern.…”

“…The relation of GGT and alcohol drinking with incident DM was recently scrutinized in the HIPOP-OHP Study 15) . A total of 3095 healthy male Japanese workers who did not have DM at baseline were followed for 4 years.…”