Relationships between alanine aminotransferase levels,abnormal liver echogenicity,and metabolic syndrome

Background: elevated alanine aminotransferase (e-alt) and abnormal liver echogenicity (ab-echo),as determined by sonography,have been linked to metabolic syndrome (mets). however,which of these is more closely related to mets,especially among older men,remains unknown. methods: data from 3065 men aged 65 years or older who were undergoing a routine health examination and who were not taking any medications for mets were analyzed retrospectively. the patients were divided into 4 groups: group n (n = 1228; patients have normal alt and liver echogenicity); group a (n = 110; patients have e-alt but normal liver echogenicity); group e (n = 1381; patients have ab-echo but normal alt); group ae (n = 346; patients have both e-alt and ab-echo). results: among the 3065 subjects,714 participants were found to have mets (23.3%). it is not surprising that mets components were highest in group ae. more interestingly,compared with group a,group e had higher levels of mets components (except that high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels were lower). similar findings were confirmed by logistic regression. group e had a significantly higher odds ratio of having mets than group a (2.73; 95% ci,1.565-4.763). conclusions: our data confirm that both e-alt and ab-echo are related to a higher incidence of mets among taiwanese older men. of these 2 abnormalities,ab-echo seems to be more closely related to mets. further studies are needed to elucidate the complex relationships between these factors in other age and ethnic groups.