Associations of alanine aminotransferase/aspartate aminotransferase with insulin resistance and β-cell function in women

We tested whether alanine aminotransferase/aspartate aminotransferase (ALT/AST), a marker of hepatosteatosis, associates with insulin resistance, beta-cell function and postglucose glycemia. We studied 311 young and 148 middle-aged Japanese women, whose BMI averaged < 23.0 kg/m(2). Insulinogenic index and Matsuda index were evaluated in 110 young and 65 middle-aged women. In two groups of women, ALT/AST was associated positively with homeostasis model assessment insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) and inversely with Matsuda index. In middle-aged women only, the ratio was also associated positively with fasting and postload glycemia and HbA1c. The ratio showed negative association with disposition index (a product of insulinogenic index and Matsuda index). On multivariate linear regression analysis, HOMA-IR emerged as a single determinant of ALT/AST in young and middle-aged women (standardized beta: 0.209, p = 0.003 and 0.372, p = 0.002, respectively). ALT/AST was associated with insulin resistance and beta-cell function even in non-obese Japanese women, suggesting a pathophysiologic basis in its prediction of diabetic risk.