Alcohol and Alcoholism Advance Access originally published online on July 19, 2006
Alcohol and Alcoholism 2006 41(5):522-527; doi:10.1093/alcalc/agl052
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AGE-RELATED CHANGES ON SERUM GGT ACTIVITY AND THE ASSESSMENT OF ETHANOL INTAKE
1 Department of Laboratory Medicine and Medical Research Unit, Seinäjoki Central Hospital and University of Tampere, Seinäjoki, Finland and 2 The Department of Medical Informatics, University of Oulu, Finland
* Author to whom correspondence should be addressed at: Seinäjoki Central Hospital, Laboratory, FIN-60220 Seinäjoki, Finland. Tel: +358 6 415 4719; Fax: +358 6 415 4924; E-mail: onni.niemela{at}epshp.fi
(Received 24 May 2006; first review notified 11 June 2006; in revised form 13 June 2006; accepted 13 June 2006)
Aims: Gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT) is a commonly used marker of ethanol abuse. However, although increasing age has also been suggested to elevate serum GGT activities, the magnitude of such effects on GGT in the assessment of ethanol intake have remained poorly defined. Methods: GGT activities from 208 heavy drinkers were compared with those from a reference population including 1330 moderate drinkers and 1160 abstainers, who were further classified to following age intervals: 18–30, 30–50, 50–70, and >70 years. Results: GGT activities increased with increasing age until after 70 years decreasing values were noted in male abstainers. The heavy drinkers belonging to age groups 18–30, 30–50, and 50–70 years showed 2.7-, 8.0-, and 6.9-fold higher mean GGT activities than those in the corresponding groups of abstainers, respectively. The values in the group of moderate drinkers also exceeded those of abstainers in all age groups of men, whereas in women the difference was significant only among those aged 18–30 years. Conclusions: The data indicate that GGT activities respond to ethanol intake in an age-dependent manner, which should be considered in the clinical use of GGT measurements for detecting alcohol use disorders.