Abstract:

Objective To investigate the relationship between the vascular endothelial function and the levels of liver enzymes of untreated outpatients with hypertension. Methods Four hundred outpatients who were suspected of having hypertension but not receiving antihypertensive treatments for at least two weeks were selected. The non-invasive flow-mediated dilatation (FMD) of patients was measured by the UNEXEF38. The FMD corrected for base arterial diameter (FMDc) was also calculated. The levels of serum liver enzymes were detected by the Hitachi automated Bioanalyzer 7600-020, including γ-glutamyl transpeptidase (GGT), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), and alanine transaminase (ALT). Results The simple correlation analysis showed that levels of GGT, ALP, and ALT were all have significant negative correlation with FMD and FMDc (r=-0.17 to -0.12, P<0.05). The multiple regression analysis showed that when the level of serum GGT and ALP increased by 2.7 times, FMD would decreased by 0.50% and 1.05% (P<0.05) and FMDc would decreased by 0.53% and 1.07% (P<0.05). After confounding factors were adjusted, the level of serum ALT was not significantly correlated with the vascular endothelial function (P>0.05). Conclusion Among liver enzymes, increased serum GGT and ALP are independent risk factors for decreasing the vascular endothelial function, while the level of ALT is not correlated with the vascular endothelial function.

Key words: γ-glutamyl transpeptidase, alkaline phosphatase, alanine transaminase, vascular endothelial function