Prevalence of elevated liver enzymes and its association with type 2 diabetes: A Descriptive Cross-Sectional Study among Nepalese Adults from Biratnagar, Nepal.

Background: Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a non-communicable metabolic disease resulting from either insulin deficiency or insulin resistance. Liver enzymes (ALT and AST) are the well-known markers of hepatocellular health while GGT also shows biliary tract function. Increased activities of liver enzymes are indicators of hepatocellular injury, are associated with insulin resistance and Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus. Aims and Objective: To study the status of Liver Enzymes in type 2 diabetes patients residing in the eastern part of Nepal. Materials and Methods: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study conducted at the Department of Clinical Biochemistry, Nobel Medical College Teaching Hospital, Biratnagar, Nepal dated from 27th Dec 2019 to 27th Dec 2020. The blood sample was taken from the patients coming to the outpatient department at Diabetic and Endocrinology Clinic for a regular check-up and follow-up and those willing to participate in research. All the data collected was entered in Microsoft Excel and Statistical Package for Social Service (SPSS) version 16. p < 0.05 was considered to be statistically significant. Results: A total of 375 subjects (255 T2DM and 120 healthy) were included. The age of the T2Diabetic subjects ranges from 27-87 years with a mean of 56.91 ± 11.00 years while age of healthy subjects ranged from 31-86 years with the mean of 53.38 ± 13.28. Among the T2DM subjects, 11.76% (30/255) had raised AST, 17.25% (44/255) had raised ALT, 12.94% (33/255) had raised ALP, and 19.60% (50/255) had raised GGT. The level of liver enzymes (AST, p = 0.005, ALT, p = 0.007, ALP, p = 0.000 and GGT, p = 0.000) were showed statistically significant. Conclusion: This study concludes that liver enzyme activity was higher in T2DM subjects than individuals who do not have T2DM. In addition, Liver parameters were significantly correlated with diabetes mellitus in our study population; hence, timely diagnosis and management of the abnormal liver parameters may help to minimize liver-related morbidity and mortality in the diabetic population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]