Association of the Aspartate Aminotransferase to Alanine Aminotransferase Ratio with BNP Level and Cardiovascular Mortality in the General Population: The Yamagata Study 10-Year Follow-Up

Dis Markers. 2016:2016:4857917. doi: 10.1155/2016/4857917. Epub 2016 Oct 31.

Abstract

Background. Early identification of high risk subjects for cardiovascular disease in health check-up is still unmet medical need. Cardiovascular disease is characterized by the superior increase in aspartate aminotransferase (AST) to alanine aminotransferase (ALT). However, the association of AST/ALT ratio with brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) levels and cardiovascular mortality remains unclear in the general population. Methods and Results. This longitudinal cohort study included 3,494 Japanese subjects who participated in a community-based health check-up, with a 10-year follow-up. The AST/ALT ratio increased with increasing BNP levels. And multivariate logistic analysis showed that the AST/ALT ratio was significantly associated with a high BNP (≥100 pg/mL). There were 250 all-cause deaths including 79 cardiovascular deaths. Multivariate Cox proportional hazard regression analysis revealed that a high AST/ALT ratio (>90 percentile) was an independent predictor of all-cause and cardiovascular mortality after adjustment for confounding factors. Kaplan-Meier analysis demonstrated that cardiovascular mortality was higher in subjects with a high AST/ALT ratio than in those without. Conclusions. The AST/ALT ratio was associated with an increase in BNP and was predictive of cardiovascular mortality in a general population. Measuring the AST/ALT ratio during routine health check-ups may be a simple and cost-effective marker for cardiovascular mortality.

Publication types

  • Comparative Study

MeSH terms

  • Aged
  • Alanine Transaminase / blood*
  • Aspartate Aminotransferases / blood*
  • Biomarkers / blood*
  • Cardiovascular Diseases / blood
  • Cardiovascular Diseases / mortality*
  • Cardiovascular Diseases / pathology
  • Case-Control Studies
  • Female
  • Follow-Up Studies
  • Humans
  • Kaplan-Meier Estimate
  • Longitudinal Studies
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Multivariate Analysis
  • Natriuretic Peptide, Brain / blood*
  • Prognosis
  • ROC Curve
  • Risk Factors
  • Survival Rate
  • Time Factors

Substances

  • Biomarkers
  • Natriuretic Peptide, Brain
  • Aspartate Aminotransferases
  • Alanine Transaminase