Diabetes and Obesity Modify the Effect of Alcohol Consumption on Carbohydrate-Deficient Transferrin

Aims

Serum levels of carbohydrate-deficient transferrin (CDT, the sum of its asialylated and disialylated glycoforms) are a commercial marker of alcohol abuse. Our aim was to investigate the potential influence of metabolic factors on serum CDT levels and the predictive value of transferrin glycoforms for the development of type 2 diabetes in a general adult population.

Materials and Methods

We measured serum CDT levels by capillary electrophoresis in 1516 individuals (median age 52 years; 55.3% women) randomly selected from the general adult population of a municipality.

Results

Insulin resistance and the associated body mass index and diabetes modified the effect of alcohol consumption on CDT levels; i.e., CDT in heavy drinkers was lower in individuals with obesity than in lean counterparts and was also lower in people with diabetes than in normoglycaemic individuals. The relative abundance of transferrin glycoforms was not significantly associated with the development of type 2 diabetes after a mean follow-up of 7.4 years.

Conclusions

There is an interaction between alcohol consumption and factors associated with insulin resistance in relation to transferrin sialylation. The sensitivity of CDT for detecting heavy alcohol consumption might be limited in people with obesity or diabetes.