Association of elevated serum aminotransferase levels with chronic kidney disease measures: hispanic community health study/study of latinos

• Published in: BMC nephrology Vol. 22; no. 1; pp. 302 - 11
• Main Authors: Missikpode, Celestin, Kramer, Holly, Cotler, Scott J., Durazo-Arvizu, Ramon, Lash, James P., Kallwitz, Eric, Cai, Jianwen, Kuniholm, Mark H., Rosas, Sylvia E., Ricardo, Ana C., Talavera, Gregory A., Raij, Leopoldo, Pirzada, Amber, Daviglus, Martha L.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London BioMed Central 07.09.2021; BioMed Central Ltd; BMC
• Subjects: Adult; Alanine; Alanine transaminase; Alanine Transaminase - blood; Albuminuria; Alcohol use; Alcoholism; Aminotransferase levels; Aminotransferases; Aspartate aminotransferase; Aspartate Aminotransferases - blood; Blood pressure; Chronic kidney disease; Chronic kidney failure; Cohort Studies; Complications and side effects; Creatinine; Creatinine - urine; Cystatin C; Diabetes; Diagnosis; Enzymes; Epidermal growth factor receptors; Fatty liver; Female; Glomerular Filtration Rate; Glucose; Health aspects; Health insurance; Hepatitis; Hispanic Americans; Hispanic or Latino; Hispanics/Latinos; Humans; Insulin resistance; Internal Medicine; Kidney diseases; Liver diseases; Logistic Models; Male; Measurement; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Metabolic syndrome; Metabolic Syndrome - complications; Metabolic Syndrome - ethnology; NAFLD; Nephrology; Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease - complications; Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease - ethnology; Obesity; Odds Ratio; Population; Race/ethnicity; Renal Insufficiency, Chronic - blood; Renal Insufficiency, Chronic - complications; Renal Insufficiency, Chronic - ethnology; Risk Factors; Secondary schools; Steroids; Transferrins; Triglycerides; Urine; Womens health; United States; United States > US; Obesity; NAFLD; Chronic kidney disease; Aminotransferase levels; Race/ethnicity; Hispanics/Latinos
• ISSN: 1471-2369; 1471-2369
• DOI: 10.1186/s12882-021-02483-y

Background Previous studies have shown an association between non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and chronic kidney disease (CKD), but it is unclear whether the association is independent of metabolic syndrome. Methods Data from 13,006 participants aged 18 to 74 years in the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos (HCHS/SOL) without viral hepatitis, excessive alcohol consumption, or high transferrin saturation levels were analyzed. Suspected NAFLD was defined as presence of sex-specific elevations in serum aminotransferase levels (aspartate aminotransferase (AST) > 37 U/L or alanine aminotransferase (ALT) > 40 U/L for men and AST or ALT > 31 U/L for women). Logistic regression was used to examine cross-sectional associations of elevated serum aminotransferase levels with low estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR < 60 ml/min/1.73 m 2 based on cystatin C), and with high urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio (UACR) (> 17 mg/g in men and > 25 mg/ g in women) in separate models adjusting for demographic characteristics and metabolic syndrome. Results Mean (SD) age was 41 (0.27) years, and 45 % were male. Elevated serum aminotransferase levels were noted in 18.8 % of the population and were associated with greater odds of high UACR (OR = 1.31; 95 % CI = 1.10, 1.56) after adjusting for demographic characteristics; this association became non-significant after adjustment for metabolic syndrome (OR = 1.11, 95 % CI = 0.92, 1.33). In contrast, elevated serum aminotransferase levels were not associated with low eGFR (odds ratio (OR) = 0.73; 95 % confidence interval (CI) = 0.45, 1.18) after adjusting for covariates. Conclusions In this sample of diverse U.S. Hispanic Latino adults, elevated serum aminotransferase levels were not independently associated with measures of CKD.