Relationship between the Serum De Ritis Ratio and Diabetes Tests in Korean Adults Who Underwent Health Screening at a General Hospital in Gyeonggi-do

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to analyze the relationship between diabetes and liver function test results. Unlike type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), hepatogenous diabetes is caused by abnormal liver function. In this study, the relationship between liver enzymes, aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine transaminase (ALT), and the AST/ALT ratio (De Ritis ratio), indicating liver function, and diabetes-related tests was analyzed. The results of the study showed a positive correlation between AST and glucose (r=0.14, P<0.01), ALT and glucose (r=0.21, P<0.01), AST and glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) (r=0.15, P<0.01), and ALT and HbA1c (r=0.20, P<0.01). The De Ritis ratio showed a negative correlation with glucose (r=‒0.20, P<0.01) and HbA1c (r=‒0.14, P<0.01). The results of regression analysis with AST, ALT, and the De Ritis ratio as independent variables and glucose (R2=0.05) and HbA1c (R2=0.04) as dependent variables revealed that the independent variables had a statistically significant effect on the dependent variables. AST showed a lower correlation between blood glucose and glycated hemoglobin than ALT, and an increase in ALT caused a decrease in the De Ritis ratio. Therefore, the De Ritis ratio can be said to be meaningful in relation to diabetes-related tests.

Keywords

• alanine aminotransferase
• aspartate aminotransferase
• diabetes mellitus
• hemoglobin a1c