- Do-Hyun Nam, MD*, Tae-Ho Yang, MD*, Hyun-June Shin, MD*, Ki Youn So, MD*, Sun-Young Oh, MD, PhD*†, Byeong Soo Shin, MD, PhD*†, Man-Wook Seo, MD, PhD*†, Seul-Ki Jeong, MD, PhD*†
- Department of Neurology, Biomedical Institute of Chonbuk National University Hospital, †Department of Neurology and Research Institute of Clinical Medicine, Chonbuk National University-Biomedical Institute of Chonbuk National University Hospital, Jeonju, Korea
Background: Alanine aminotrasferase (ALT) has been reported to be independently associated with
cardiovascular diseases and vascular mortality. The aim of the present study was to explore whether
ALT could be associated with carotid atherosclerosis, if factors which could affect liver function were
considered. Methods: The present cross-sectional study included 293 subjects who underwent abdominal
and carotid ultrasonographic examinations and biochemical investigations. Among them,
we excluded participants who had any of the exclusion criteria of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease
(NAFLD). Regression analyses were performed for ALT and carotid intima-media thickness (IMT)
and plaque, and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were analyzed. Results: In total, 216
(73.7%) met all the criteria for the NAFLD-eligibility and were included. ALT was independently associated
with carotid IMT and plaque, even after adjusting for age, sex, and all the possible potential
confounders. A unit (IU/L) increase of ALT for carotid plaque showed an odd ratio of 1.05 and 95%
confidence intervals; 1.01-1.09. The area under ROC curves for carotid plaque of ALT was 0.69,
which was significantly higher than that of NAFLD (0.58, p=0.032). Conclusions: ALT was significantly
and independently associated with both carotid IMT and plaque in the general population
who are eligible for a diagnosis of NAFLD.
Journal of Neurosonology 5(1):30-36, 2013
Key Words: ALT, Carotid atherosclerosis, Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, Metabolic syndrome
