Serum γ-glutamyltransferase level and metabolic syndrome in children and adolescents: Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey

Abstract

AIMS/INTRODUCTION: Serum γ-glutamyltransferase (GGT) is positively related to cardiometabolic diseases, such as type 2 diabetes mellitus, hypertension and metabolic syndrome (MetS), in adult populations. Our aim was to investigate whether serum GGT is independently associated with MetS and its components in a nationally representative sample of Korean children and adolescents.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study included data from 1,618 participants (867 boys, 751 girls) aged 10-18 years from the 2010-2011 Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. MetS was diagnosed by the 2007 International Diabetes Federation criteria for children and adolescents. Participants were stratified using a cut-off value of the 75th percentile of serum GGT levels (19 IU/L for boys, 15 IU/L for girls). The odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals for MetS and its components were determined with multiple logistic regression analyses.

RESULTS: The mean values of most cardiometabolic variables were significantly higher in the upper stratum. Except for low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol in boys and elevated blood pressure in girls, participants in the upper GGT stratum had significantly higher odds of MetS and its components than those in the lower stratum. The multivariate-adjusted odds ratios for MetS for the upper stratum were 5.79 (95% confidence interval 1.21-27.02) in boys and 6.20 (95% confidence interval 1.71-22.47) in girls, after adjusting for age, household income and residential area.

CONCLUSIONS: Serum GGT was positively associated with MetS and its components in Korean children and adolescents. Serum GGT could be a useful measure for identifying children and adolescents with MetS.