Waist circumference, body mass index, serum uric acid, blood sugar, and triglyceride levels are important risk factors for abnormal liver function tests in the Taiwanese population

Several studies have found that metabolic syndrome and uric acid level are related to abnormal liver function test results. The aim of this study was to explore the associations of risk factors [including blood pressure, blood sugar, total cholesterol, triglyceride, uric acid, waist circumference and body mass index (BMI) measurements] with abnormal liver function in the Taiwanese population.In total, 11,411 Taiwanese adults were enrolled in this study. Blood pressure was assessed according to the Seventh Report of the Joint National Committee on Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Pressure criteria, fasting blood sugar level according to the Bureau of Health Promotion, Department of Health, R.O.C., criteria, total cholesterol and triglyceride levels according to the Third Report of the National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel III criteria, BMI according to the Asia-Pacific criteria, and waist circumference according to the Revised Diagnostic Criteria of Metabolic Syndrome in Taiwan. The prevalence of a past history of hypertension and diabetes mellitus was 17.7% and 6.5%, respectively, and the rates of abnormal measurements of blood pressure, BMI, waist circumference, fasting blood sugar, triglyceride, total cholesterol, uric acid (male/female), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) were 76.2%, 67.6%, 40.0%, 28.6%, 30.6%, 57.3%, 37.9%/21.9%, 14.6% and 21.3%, respectively. Multivariate analysis showed that waist circumference, BMI, serum uric acid, blood sugar, and triglyceride levels were related to abnormal AST and ALT (p < 0.05), but the odds ratio for waist circumference was larger than that for BMI. In conclusion, waist circumference, BMI, serum uric acid, blood sugar, and triglyceride levels are important risk factors for abnormal AST and ALT readings in Taiwanese adults. Waist circumference might be a better indicator of risk of abnormal liver function than BMI.