High Alanine Aminotransferase Is Associated With Decreased Hepatic Insulin Sensitivity and Predicts the Development of Type 2 Diabetes

It has been proposed that liver dysfunction may contribute to the development of type 2 diabetes. The aim of the present study was to examine whether elevated hepatic enzymes (alanine aminotransferase [ALT], aspartate aminotransferase [AST], or gamma -glutamyltranspeptidase [GGT]) are associated with prospective changes in liver or whole-body insulin sensitivity and/or insulin secretion and whether these elevated enzymes predict the development of type 2 diabetes in Pima Indians. We measured ALT, AST, and GGT in 451 nondiabetic (75-g oral glucose tolerance test) Pima Indians (aged 30 +/- 6 years, body fat 33 +/- 8%, ALT 45 +/- 29 units/l, AST 34 +/- 18 units/l, and GGT 56 +/- 40 units/l [mean +/- SD]) who were…