Relationships of elevated levels of serum hepatic enzymes and alcohol intake with arterial stiffness in men

Objective: The present study aimed to evaluate the relationships between elevated serum levels of hepatic enzymes and arterial stiffness and to investigate whether alcohol intake had a modifying effect on these relationships in Japanese men. Methods: A total of 647 eligible men aged 35-69 years who underwent measurement of brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV) as an index of arterial stiffness were evaluated. Information on their lifestyle characteristics were obtained from a structured self-administered questionnaire. Serum biochemical factors, including alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT), were determined. The serum ALT and GGT levels were divided into tertiles, and their associations with baPWV values were evaluated using general linear models adjusted for potential confounding factors. The interaction effects between serum hepatic enzymes and alcohol intake on baPWV were further evaluated. Results: Elevated serum ALT and GGT levels were proportionally associated with increased baPWV after adjusting for the multivariable covariates (P values for trend, 0.004 and 0.003, respectively). Further analyses revealed that the proportional associations between serum levels of hepatic enzymes and baPWV were striking in the subjects without alcohol intake but not in those with alcohol intake. The interaction effect between serum GGT level and alcohol intake on baPWV was significant (P for interaction, 0.042). Conclusion: These results demonstrate that elevated serum ALT and GGT levels are associated with increased arterial stiffness, independent of the classical atherosclerotic risk factors in Japanese men, and that the association of elevated serum GGT level with arterial stiffness differs according to alcohol intake.