Factors underlying the association of body mass index with serum ALT in Chinese hypertensive adults without known hepatic diseases.

OBJECTIVE: High body mass index (BMI) is considered as the most important risk factor for elevated serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) concentration. This study examined an array of factors, including waist circumference (WC) and folate deficiency, which may mediate the association of BMI with serum ALT concentration in Chinese hypertensive adults without known hepatic diseases. METHODS: A multicenter, cross-sectional study was carried out. A total of 378 patients with mild or moderate hypertension and without known hepatic diseases were recruited from five hospitals in Harbin, Shanghai, Beijing, Xi'an, and Nanjing. RESULTS: Of the 360 hypertensive patients with complete data in our final analysis, 13.6% had high ALT concentrations (>40 IU/L). Factors including BMI, WC, triglyceride level, and folate concentration were associated with ALT concentration in univariate analysis. Consistently higher prevalence rates of elevated ALT were observed in subjects with lower folate concentrations (≥12 vs. <12 nmol/L, 9.9% vs. 17.8%, P=0.03), with higher BMI (≥28 vs. <28 kg/m(2), 21.5% vs. 11.4%, P=0.02) or higher WC (≥90 vs. <90 cm, 18.5% vs. 10.0%, P=0.02). However, in multivariate analysis, the association between BMI and ALT concentration disappeared (P=0.802 in males and 0.369 in females), while WC in females (P<0.001) and folate concentration (P=0.036 in males and 0.044 in females) remained as significant predictors for ALT concentration. CONCLUSIONS: This multicenter study demonstrated that WC and low folate concentration were important factors underlying the association between BMI and ALT concentrations in Chinese hypertensive adults without known hepatic diseases.

[The effect of baseline homocysteine level on the efficacy of enalapril maleate and folic acid tablet in lowering blood pressure and plasma homocysteine].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of baseline homocysteine (Hcy) level on the efficacy of enalapril maleate and folic acid tablet in lowering blood pressure and plasma Hcy in patients with mild or moderate essential hypertension. METHODS: 456 patients with mild or moderate essential hypertension were from 7 hospitals in Southern and Northern China, 196 males and 260 females, aged 18-75, were randomly assigned to one of the 3 groups: Group 1 treated with enalapril 10 mg (n=153); Group 2 treated with enalapril maleate and folic acid tablet at the ratio of 10/0.4 (n=151); and Group 3 treated with enalapril maleate and folic acid tablet at the ratio of 10/0.8 (n=152). Blood pressure was measured every 2 weeks and plasma Hcy level was measured before the experiment, 4 weeks after the beginning of experiment, and by the end of experiment. RESULTS: Compared with the baseline levels, the blood pressures of the 3 groups were all well controlled (all P<0.01). There was no significant difference among the 3 groups in the efficacy in lowering blood pressure, even after stratification by the baseline Hcy level. 75% of all the subjects had elevated plasma Hcy level (>or=10 micromol/L). The blood pressure and Hcy lowering rates of the subjects with hyperhomocysteinemia in Groups 2 and 3 were 70.9% and 67.0% respectively, both significantly higher than that of Group 1 [45.6%, OR(95%CI): 3.0 (1.7-5.5), P=0.000 and OR=3.3 (1.8-5.9), P=0.000], and in lowering Hcy [OR(95%CI): 7.5 (2.6-21.2), P=0.000 and 3.5 (1.4-8.7), P=0.007] subjects with hyperhomocy steinemia. The Hcy lowering efficacy in the patients without hyperhomocysteinemia of Group 3 was significantly higher than that of Group 1 (P=0.016). CONCLUSION: Hyperhomocysteinemia is s extremely common in Chinese hypertensive patients. Enalapril maleate combine with folic acid tablet shows better efficacy in lowering either blood pressure or Hcy in hypertensive patients with hyperhomocysteinemia.