The effect of liver enzymes on body composition: A Mendelian randomization study.

Liu J; Au Yeung SL; Kwok MK; Leung JYY; Hui LL; Leung GM; Schooling CM

The effect of liver enzymes on body composition: A Mendelian randomization study.

dc.citation.issue	2
dc.citation.volume	15
dc.contributor.author	Liu J
dc.contributor.author	Au Yeung SL
dc.contributor.author	Kwok MK
dc.contributor.author	Leung JYY
dc.contributor.author	Hui LL
dc.contributor.author	Leung GM
dc.contributor.author	Schooling CM
dc.contributor.editor	Meyre D
dc.coverage.spatial	United States
dc.date.accessioned	2024-10-02T00:27:40Z
dc.date.available	2024-10-02T00:27:40Z
dc.date.issued	2020-02-11
dc.description.abstract	Background Higher alanine transaminase (ALT), indicating poor liver function, is positively associated with diabetes but inversely associated with body mass index (BMI) in Mendelian randomization (MR) studies, suggesting liver function affects muscle mass. To clarify, we assessed the associations of liver enzymes with muscle and fat mass observationally with two-sample MR as a validation. Methods In the population-representative “Children of 1997” birth cohort (n = 3,455), we used multivariable linear regression to assess the adjusted associations of ALT and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) at ~17.5 years with muscle mass and body fat percentage observationally. Genetic variants predicting ALT, ALP and gamma glutamyltransferase (GGT) were applied to fat-free and fat mass in the UK Biobank (n = ~331,000) to obtain unconfounded MR estimates. Results Observationally, ALT was positively associated with muscle mass (0.11 kg per IU/L, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.10 to 0.12) and fat percentage (0.15% per IU/L, 95% CI 0.13 to 0.17). ALP was inversely associated with muscle mass (-0.03 kg per IU/L, 95% CI -0.04 to -0.02) and fat percentage (-0.02% per IU/L, 95% CI -0.03 to -0.01). Using MR, ALT was inversely associated with fat-free mass (-0.41 kg per 100% in concentration, 95% CI -0.64 to -0.19) and fat mass (-0.58 kg per 100% in concentration, 95% CI -0.85 to -0.30). ALP and GGT were unclearly associated with fat-free mass or fat mass. Conclusion ALT reducing fat-free mass provides a possible pathway for the positive association of ALT with diabetes and suggests a potential target of intervention.ovides a possible pathway for the positive association of ALT with diabetes and suggests a potential target of intervention.
dc.description.confidential	false
dc.format.pagination	e0228737-
dc.identifier.author-url	https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/32045441
dc.identifier.citation	Liu J, Au Yeung SL, Kwok MK, Leung JYY, Hui LL, Leung GM, Schooling CM. (2020). The effect of liver enzymes on body composition: A Mendelian randomization study.. PLoS One. 15. 2. (pp. e0228737-).
dc.identifier.doi	10.1371/journal.pone.0228737
dc.identifier.eissn	1932-6203
dc.identifier.elements-type	journal-article
dc.identifier.issn	1932-6203
dc.identifier.number	e0228737
dc.identifier.pii	PONE-D-19-28757
dc.identifier.uri	https://mro.massey.ac.nz/handle/10179/71560
dc.language	eng
dc.publisher	PLOS
dc.publisher.uri	https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0228737
dc.relation.isPartOf	PLoS One
dc.rights	(c) 2020 The Author/s
dc.rights	CC BY 4.0
dc.rights.uri	https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
dc.subject	Adolescent
dc.subject	Alanine Transaminase
dc.subject	Alkaline Phosphatase
dc.subject	Body Composition
dc.subject	Body Mass Index
dc.subject	Cohort Studies
dc.subject	Female
dc.subject	Hand Strength
dc.subject	Humans
dc.subject	Linear Models
dc.subject	Liver
dc.subject	Male
dc.subject	Mendelian Randomization Analysis
dc.subject	Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide
dc.subject	gamma-Glutamyltransferase
dc.title	The effect of liver enzymes on body composition: A Mendelian randomization study.
dc.type	Journal article
pubs.elements-id	491214
pubs.organisational-group	College of Health