Alanine Aminotransferase levels are Associated with Cardiometabolic Risk Markers in Hispanic/Latino Farmworkers
Anas Raed1, Norman K. Pollock1, Jigar Bhagatwala1, Pamela Cromer2, Andrew Mazzoli3, Haidong Zhu1, Tricia Francisco1, Jessica Bilz1, Rachel Azevedo1, Janice Clarke1, Seung Su Lee1, Aarthi Murugappan1, Vishwajeeth Pasham1, Deborah Stewart1, Yutong Dong1, Ying Huang1, Samip J. Parikh1, Debbie Layman2, and Yanbin Dong1*
Affiliation
1Georgia Prevention Institute, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta University, Building HS-1640, Augusta 30912, GA, USA
2College of Nursing, Augusta University, Augusta, GA, USA
3Respiratory Therapy Program, Augusta University, Augusta, GA, USA
Corresponding Author
Yanbin Dong, MD, PhD, Georgia Prevention Institute, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta University, 1499 Walton way, HS-1755, Augusta, GA, 30901, Tel: 706-721-5014; E-mail: ydong@augusta.edu
Citation
Dong, Y., et al. Alanine Aminotransferase Levels are Associated with Cardiometabolic Risk Markers in Hispanic/Latino Farmworkers. (2018) J Environ Health Sci 4(1): 20- 25.
Copy rights
© 2018 Dong, Y. This is an Open access article distributed under the terms of Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Keywords
Abstract
Introduction: Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) are major causes of mortality among U.S. Hispanic/Latino farmworkers. Since Hispanics/Latinos, in general, are twice as likely as non-Hispanic whites to have elevated alanine aminotransferase (ALT), a biomarker of suspected nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, it is vital to understand the CVD risk factor-ALT relationship in Hispanic/Latino farmworkers. This study investigated the elevated ALT status in Hispanic/Latino farmworkers and the relationships between ALT and CVD risk markers.
Methods: In 210 Hispanic/Latino farmworkers (48% female; aged 35.2 ± 9.2 years), fasting blood samples were measured for serum ALT, and elevated ALT was defined by > 43 U/L. CVD risk markers were measured with standard methods and defined according to the definitions of metabolic syndrome.
Results: The overall prevalence for elevated ALT was 12.4%. Significant linear upward trends across tertiles of serum ALT were observed for body mass index, waist circumference, fasting glucose, and triglycerides after adjusting for age and sex (all P-trend < 0.05). Multinomial logistic regression, adjusting for age and sex, revealed that compared to individuals with the lowest ALT levels (tertile1), the adjusted odds ratios for overweight/obesity, prediabetes, elevated triglycerides, and metabolic syndrome were 3.2 (95% CI:1.2-8.6), 3.7 (95% CI:1.6-8.4), 3.0 (95% CI:1.5-6.2), and 2.7 (95% CI:1.3-5.6), respectively, for those in the highest ALT levels (tertile 3). No association was found between serum ALT and blood pressure or HDL-cholesterol.
Conclusions: Our findings provide evidence for the high prevalence of elevated ALT levels in Hispanic/Latino farmworkers and suggest that increased serum ALT is associated with multiple markers of CVD risk.
