STUDY ON ELEVATED SERUM GAMMA-GLUTAMYL TRANSFERAGE (GGT) LEVEL TO EVALUATE ITS CLINICAL RELEVANCE IN PATIENTS FROM DIFFERENT INDIGENOUS COMMUNITIES IN A TERTIARY CARE CENTRE, RIMS RANCHI JHARKHAND INDIA

Abstract

Very few studies have examined the interaction between various environmental and life style factors on elevated serum GGT concentration. Such studies especially in tribal dominated Jharkhand is further rare. Whereas the present study has been done to elucidate the interaction between overweight/obesity and alcohol intake on liver enzyme concentrations and results of instant study have been found to be very useful for better clinical practice. In the instant study, it has been found that higher Body Mass Index (BMI) of patients were associated with elevated Serum GGT level, which in turn associated with hypertension, incident diabetes, metabolic syndrome, cardiovascular disease etc., which increases the morbidity and mortality. Aims & Objectives- The aim of this study is to examine the association between various environmental and lifestyle factors on elevated serum GGT level in a community based indigenous population in Eastern part of India and its clinical relevance. Material and Methods The present study enrolled a total of 404 patients either through outdoor or indoor patients coming to Department of Medicine, RIMS, Ranchi, Jharkhand. Patients with serum GGT concentrations > 38 IU/L and aged 18 years or above from all different communities were included for the study. Additionally, we excluded patients with Serum GGT level ˂ 38 IU/L, yielding a final sample of 193 patients (75 women) for the present study. All patients provided written consent, and the study protocol was approved by the Institution Review Board of the Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences, Ranchi, Jharkhand. Participants’ age, gender, religion followed by community, occupation with annual per capita income, BMI were recorded. Retrospectively participants’ dietary habits were also recorded. Strengths and Limitations The present study has several strengths including the community based sample of men and women, their religion, occupation, income which indirectly affect their life style like physical activity. However, there are several limitations that must be noted like small sample size, localized population of Eastern India, which limits the generalizability of our result to other ethnic groups.