PLoS ONE (Jan 2020)

Differences among patients with and without nonalcoholic fatty liver disease having elevated alanine aminotransferase levels at various stages of metabolic syndrome.

  • Masahiro Sogabe,
  • Toshiya Okahisa,
  • Takeshi Kurihara,
  • Masanori Takehara,
  • Kaizo Kagemoto,
  • Jun Okazaki,
  • Yoshifumi Kida,
  • Akihiro Hirao,
  • Hironori Tanaka,
  • Tetsu Tomonari,
  • Tatsuya Taniguchi,
  • Koichi Okamoto,
  • Masahiko Nakasono,
  • Tetsuji Takayama

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0238388
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 15, no. 8
p. e0238388

Abstract

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BackgroundThe prevalence of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in the non-obese population has increased and NAFLD is not always recognized in individuals with metabolic syndrome (MS). The risk of cirrhosis is higher in patients having NAFLD with elevated alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels than in those having NAFLD with normal ALT levels.ObjectiveTo measure the differences in clinical factors associated with NAFLD having elevation of ALT among subjects with Non-MS, Pre-MS, and MS, and to measure differences in metabolites between MS subjects with and without NAFLD having elevation of ALT.MethodsAmong 7,054 persons undergoing health check-ups, we included 3,025 subjects who met the selection criteria. We measured differences in clinical factors for NAFLD having elevation of ALT among subjects with Non-MS, Pre-MS, and MS, and compared metabolites between subjects with and without NAFLD having elevation of ALT in 32 subjects with MS.ResultsThe prevalence of NAFLD and NAFLD having elevation of ALT was significantly progressively greater in subjects with Non-MS, Pre-MS, and MS (p ConclusionsAlthough NAFLD having elevation of ALT is important for development of NAFLD, differences in factors associated with NAFLD having elevation of ALT at various stages of MS should be considered. Additionally, several metabolites may play roles in the identification of risk for NAFLD in individuals with MS.