Multiple health behaviors and serum hepatic enzymes among US adults with obesity

This study was to examine the cumulative number and clustering patterns of low-risk health behaviors (i.e., not currently smoking, not excessive drinking, and physically active) associated with elevation of serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), and gamma-glutamyltransferase (GGT) among adults with obesity in the United States.

We estimated the age-adjusted prevalence of elevated ALT, AST, and GGT from 4547 adults with obesity aged ≥ 20 years who participated in the 2005-2008 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. The associations between the cumulative number or clustering patterns of low-risk health behaviors and measures of serum ALT, AST, and GGT were assessed using multivariate regression models.

Adult men who reported having three low-risk health behaviors were 62%, 39%, and 48% less likely to have elevated serum ALT, AST, and GGT, respectively; adult women were 56% and 73% less likely to have elevated serum AST and GGT, respectively, when compared to their respective counterparts who reported having none of the low-risk health behaviors.

The findings of this study indicate that, among adults with obesity, having multiple low-risk health behaviors is associated with decreased likelihoods of elevated hepatic enzymes, including ALT in men, AST and GGT in both men and women.