A Study on The Risk Factors of Abnormal Liver Function

The aim of this study is to identify the difference of the risk factors of abnormal liver function between non-obese group and obese group in Korea. We analyzed adults data aged 20yrs and older(N=5,734) from Korea Health and Nutrition Survey conducted in 2001. We defined the abnormal liver function if SGOT is over 40IU/L or SGPT is over 40IU/L. Obesity is assessed by BMI, Waist circumference, and Waist to hip ratio. Risk factors of abnormal liver function of overall subjects were investigated. Identifying obesity was a significant factor of abnormal liver function, dividing overall subjects into non-obese group and obese group, and investigated of the differences of the risk factors between the two groups, using multiple logistic regression analysis. The mean age was 45.10(±15.55). Overall abnormality rate of liver function test was 7.8%. In the non-obese group, gender, HbsAg, alcohol, and drug showed high odds ratios. While in the obese group, gender, exercise, and diet control showed high odds ratios for abnormal liver function. Obesity is the leading cause of abnormal liver function, and obese subjects differ from non-obese subjects in association with abnormal liver function. We suggest that in obese subjects, exercise and diet control is the first consideration to prevent abnormal liver function.