Gender differences in the association of hypertension with gamma–glutamyltransferase and alanine aminotransferase levels in Chinese adults in Qingdao, China

• The elevated gamma–glutamyltransferase (GGT) was independently associated with the presence of hypertension.
• The elevated alanine aminotransferase was not associated with the presence of hypertension.
• The effect of elevated GGT on hypertension was significant only in obese women.
• The effect of GGT was associated with hypertension in both lean and obese men.
• The association appeared to be stronger in obese than in lean counterparts.

The aim of the study was to study the associations of hypertension with gamma–glutamyltransferase (GGT) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels. Data of 3575 men and 5504 women were analyzed. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed to estimate the odds ratio (OR) for hypertension with GGT and ALT. Compared with the lowest quartile, the multivariate adjusted ORs for hypertension were 0.97 (0.79, 1.19) in men and 0.88 (0.74, 1.04) in women for ALT and 2.29 (1.68, 3.14) and 1.52 (1.27, 1.83) for GGT in the highest quartile group. The ORs for hypertension in the low waist circumference category were 2.61 (1.56, 4.36) in men and 1.41 (0.94, 2.12) in women and in the high waist circumference category 4.01 (2.21, 7.29) and 2.26 (1.54, 3.32) for GGT. The elevated GGT, but not ALT, was associated with the presence of the hypertension in men and women. The association is stronger in obese men and women than in their lean counterparts.