Association of Liver Aminotransferases with Lipid Profile in Patients with Type II Diabetes Mellitus

Abstract

Background and Objectives: Reduced insulin secretion in individuals with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) results in accumulation of fat in the liver and elevation of liver enzymes. Destruction of hepatocytes due to non-alcoholic fatty liver is associated with increased risk of cardiovascular disease. In this study, we aimed to evaluate association of liver transaminases with lipid profile in patients with T2DM and healthy subjects. Methods: This case-control study was carried out on 500 subjects with T2DM (250 men and 250 women) and 500 non-diabetic counterparts. Diagnosis of T2DM was confirmed based on the World Health Organization criteria. Fasting blood samples (5 ml) were obtained from all subjects in the morning and serum was extracted for assessment of biochemical parameters. Data were analyzed with SPSS (version 20) and using the Spearman's rank correlation coefficient and Mann-Whitney U test. Results: Serum levels of total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride, alanine aminotransferase, aspartate transaminase, TC/high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C) ratio and atherogenic index of plasma were significantly higher in subjects with T2DM compared to non-diabetic individuals (P<0.005). Of lipid profile parameters, only risk ratio (TC/ HDL-C) was positively correlated with ALT (P=0.037), and no significant correlation was observed for other variables. Conclusion: Individuals with T2DM have higher lipid profile, atherogenic index of plasma and liver enzymes compared to healthy individuals. Furthermore, TC/HDL-C is significantly correlated with serum level of alanine aminotransferase.