Abstract
AimStudy the prevalence of metabolic syndrome (MS) and risk factors for and association with elevated alanine aminotransferase (ALT) as markers of hepatic injury in a large Hispanic health disparity cohort with high rates of obesity.MethodsAnalysis of data from a prospective cross-sectional population based study. From 2004-7, we randomly recruited 2000 community participants to the Cameron County Hispanic Cohort collecting extensive socioeconomic, clinical and laboratory data. We excluded 153 subjects due to critical missing data. Pearson chi-square tests and Student's t-tests were used for categorical and continuous variable analysis, respectively. Logistic regression analysis was performed to determine the risk factors for elevated ALT.ResultsThe mean age of the cohort was 45 years and 67% were females. The majority of the cohort was either overweight (32.4%) or obese (50.7%). Almost half (43.7%) had MS and nearly one-third diabetes. Elevated ALT level was more prevalent in males than females. Obesity was a strong risk for abnormal ALT in both genders. Hypertriglyceridemia, hypercholesterolemia and young age were risks for elevated ALT in males only, whereas increased fasting plasma glucose was associated with elevated ALT in females only.ConclusionWe identified high prevalence of MS and markers of liver injury in this large Mexican American cohort with gender differences in prevalence and risk factors, with younger males at greatest risk.
Highlights
Minority populations including Hispanics suffer from severe health consequences of many preventable diseases, prominently obesity, diabetes and their complications
The cohort was further divided into 2 groups based on serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels as described
Elevated ALT level was more prevalent in males than females
Summary
Minority populations including Hispanics suffer from severe health consequences of many preventable diseases, prominently obesity, diabetes and their complications. We have been recruiting and studying a community cohort of more than 2000 Mexican Americans living on the US/ Mexico border for several years (the Cameron County Hispanic Cohort: CCHC) [2]. Among these health disparity participants, we have found extremely high rates of obesity (52%) and diabetes (20%). In an earlier chart review from a clinic serving the same, largely uninsured population we documented high frequency of chronic end-stage liver disease and hepatocellular carcinoma. We sought to obtain more precise prevalence data and better understanding of underlying risk factors as a first step to establishing burden of disease and developing interventions
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