Determination of the upper cut-off values of serum alanine aminotransferase and aspartate aminotransferase in Chinese

AIM: To determine the upper cut-off values of serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) in a Northern Chinese population. METHODS: A total of 3769 subjects in Jilin Province Northeast China were stratified to determine the potential factors affecting serum ALT and AST levels. The upper cut-off values of serum ALT and AST in these subjects were determined using receiver operating characteristic analysis and their sensitivity and specificity were evaluated. RESULTS: Stratification analysis revealed that serum ALT and AST levels were associated with gender, alcohol consumption, serum cholesterol and triglyceride levels, and body mass index. The upper cut-off values of serum ALT and AST were 22.15 U/L and 25.35 U/L for healthy men and 22.40 U/L and 24.25 U/L for healthy women, respectively. The new cut-off values had a higher sensitivity, but a slightly lower specificity than the current standards. CONCLUSION: Our results indicate that the new upper cut-off values of serum ALT and AST are markedly lower than current standards and may be valuable for the evaluation of liver function.