Abstract
Author(s): Dan Subhasish1, Aditya Papia2, Banerjee Prithwijit3*, Roy Himansu4, Adak Shiuli Roy5, Rahaman Musfikur6 and Sengupta Mohua7
Background & Objective: Alanine Aminotransferase (ALT) and Aspartate Aminotransferase (AST) are the principal hepatic enzymes in clinical laboratory setup. ALT and AST are elevated in various types of hepatitis, cirrhosis and hepatic neoplasia. Recently, in some studies, the elevation of ALT has been observed in hypertension and metabolic syndrome. This study was performed to find out the relationship of Aspartate Aminotransferase (AST) and Alanine Aminotransferase (ALT) with essential hypertension (EHTN). Materials & Methods: 93 EHTN patients and 99 age and sex matched control individuals in 18-55 years age group were recruited into the study, after obtaining their voluntary informed consent. Hepatic aminotransferase levels and lipid profiles of all the patients were estimated and compared by statistical analysis. Result: Serum ALT level appeared significantly higher in HTN group than normotensive group (p= 0.021). However, no significant difference was observed in AST levels (p=0.099) as well as the lipid profile values among the two groups. Conclusion: HTN has possibly contributed towards higher ALT level, which may be considered as a surrogate marker for the same and may also serve as an early marker for its subsequent deleterious consequences like type II diabetes mellitus, metabolic syndrome and carotid atherosclerosis.