Comparison of serum Alanine Aminotransferase and Aspartate Aminotransferase among Obese and Non-obese Adults.

Abstract

Obesity is a major global health issue and WHO points out that 1 in 3 people globally is clinically obese. Obesity is a condition of having an excessive amount of body fat and is linked with several health disorders that include metabolic syndrome, cardiovascular diseases as well as liver diseases. Alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) are usually used to assess liver function. It is established that obesity results in many cases of liver disorders known as steatosis or non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). It is the excessive deposit of fat within the liver cells that may result in inflammation, fibrosis and cirrhosis. Studies on obesity have established that obese subjects significantly tend to have higher liver enzymes like ALT and AST than non-obese adults. This study aims to compare these two liver enzymes between these two groups in the hopes of shedding light on how obesity impacts the liver and offers these biomarkers for NAFLD. The study was designed to assess the status of liver function in adult obese individuals by examining key markers, including serum Alanine Aminotransferase (ALT) and Aspartate Aminotransferase (AST), and to compare them with non-obese adults. The present cross-sectional study was carried out in the Department of Biochemistry, Mymensingh Medical College, Mymensingh, in collaboration with the Department of Endocrinology and Medicine, Mymensingh Medical College Hospital, from Octy 2023 to June 2024. The subjects were selected based on inclusion and exclusion criteria by purposive non-random sampling. A total of 200 participants took part in this study. Out of them, 100 were selected as case (obese adults) and another 100 non-obese adults were selected as control. In this study, serum ALT and AST levels were measured for analytical study. All the values were expressed as mean±SD. Statistical analysis was done using by using SPSS Windows package version 26.0. The statistical significance of the difference between the case and control was calculated using Student's unpaired 't'- test. Pearson's correlation is done to see the level of significance. After careful evaluation, the mean±SD values of serum ALT were 37.14±15.18 U/L and 21.92±5.10 U/L in case and control groups respectively, and mean±SD values of serum AST were 41.15±15.24 U/L and 25.01±6.65 U/L in case and control group respectively. This study revealed that mean serum ALT and AST levels were significantly increased in obese adults. There was a significant positive correlation found between BMI with serum ALT and AST levels. Analyzing the findings of this cross-sectional study, significant alterations in serum ALT and AST levels were observed among obese adults.