Serum alanine aminotransferase levels are closely associated with metabolic disturbances in apparently healthy young adolescents independent of obesity

PURPOSE: Liver metabolism plays a pivotal role in the development of metabolic disorders. We aimed to investigate the clinical and laboratory risk factors associated with alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels in young adolescents from an urban population in Korea. METHODS: A population of 120 apparently healthy adolescents aged 12–13 years was included in the cross-sectional design study; 58 were overweight or obese and 62 were of normal weight. We estimated anthropometric and laboratory measurements, including waist-to-height ratio, blood pressure, insulin sensitivity, aspartate aminotransferases (AST), ALT, and lipid profiles. RESULTS: The mean ages of the overweight or obese and normal weight participants were 12.9±0.3 and 13.0±0.3 years, respectively. Height, weight, body mass index, waist circumference, waist-to-height ratio, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, AST, ALT, total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol, triglyceride, insulin, and the homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) score were significantly higher and the high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol and quantitative insulin-sensitivity check index were significantly lower in the overweight/obese participants in comparison to the normal-weight participants (all P<0.05). In multivariate linear regression analysis, waist-to-height ratio, systolic blood pressure, and HOMA-IR score were independently and positively associated with serum ALT levels. CONCLUSION: Screening for ALT levels in adolescents may help to differentiate those at risk of metabolic abnormalities and thus prevent disease progression at an early age.