Correlation Between Alanine Aminotransferase and Left Ventricular Mass in Patients with Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease

Abstract

Background: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is considered a risk factor for chronic kidney disease, endocrinopathies, cardiovascular disease (CVD), cerebrovascular disease and osteoporosis. Many prospective follow-up studies demonstrated cardiovascular mortality as an important cause of death in these patients. However, the exact relationship between ALT and CVD especially LVH is undetermined.

Objective: The objective of this study was to determine the correlation between raised ALT levels and left ventricular mass (LVM) in NAFLD patients.

Methods: In this cross sectional analytical study, 115 patients (both male and female) were selected through non-probability purposive sampling technique after meeting inclusion and exclusion criteria. These patients, aged 20-60 years, were diagnosed cases of NAFLD with transaminitis (ALT ≥40 unit/L). Venous samples were collected for ALT, viral serology and fasting lipid profile. All the patients underwent ultrasound abdomen and echocardiography for LVM.

Results: Mean age of patients was 44.63±1.03 while gender distribution showed 55(47.8%) male and 60(52.2%) female patients with a mean body mass index (BMI) of 26.75±5.048. Mean ALT level was 56.68±9.08 and mean LVM was 190.60±14.23 grams. Correlation coefficient for ALT and LVM was 0.571 which showed moderate correlation between these two parameters. A positive moderate correlation existed between ALT and LVM after stratifying the data according to age, gender and BMI.

Conclusion: Elevated ALT levels in NAFLD patients can serve as a screening tool for cardiovascular risk assessment. Whether there is a temporal relationship between transaminitis and an increased risk of cardiovascular events needs further statistical evidence.