Canadian Journal of Pure & Applied Sciences

Abstract: The objective of our study was to evaluate the accuracy of body mass index (BMI) in detecting an elevated alanine transaminase (ALT) level in the college students population. The cross-sectional survey was conducted from 2005 to 2008 based on the health checkup data. A total of 7875 college freshmen were examined. Logistic regression was used to quantify the contribution of BMI to an elevated ALT (40 U/L) level. The Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve was used to calculate the BMI cut-off points for the risk of elevated ALT. BMI was a significant predictor of elevated ALT in both male (OR=1.30, 95%CI:1.24–1.36) and female (OR=1.21, 95%CI:1.60–1.27). The risk of elevated ALT was 38.79 (95%CI:22.46–67.01) fold higher with obesity in male and 21.96 (95%CI:8.24–58.51) fold in female. According to the data of the ROC curve, the BMI cut-off points for predicting the risk of elevated ALT were 24.1 kg/m2 in male and 21.7 kg/m2 in female. BMI is a good predictor of elevated ALT serum activity in the college students population. To identify college students population at high risk of elevated ALT in Taiwan, cut-off points little higher than currently recommended overweight for BMI is needed in male students while lower than overweight for BMI is suggested in female.