Aspartate/alanine aminotransferase ratio and development of chronic kidney disease in non-diabetic Japanese men and women

Abstract

AbstractAimThe objective of this study was to explore the relationship between serum aspartate/alanine aminotransferase ratio (AST/ALT) and subsequent development of chronic kidney disease (CKD) in non-diabetic Japanese men and women in a 25-year follow-up study.MethodsThe study included all middle-aged and older non-diabetic Japanese citizens who received health check-ups in Zentsuji, Kagawa, Japan (1998–2023). AST/ALT was classified into three categories: <1.0 (reference), 1.0–<1.5, and ≥1.5. Participant characteristics were compared by AST/ALT categories. The Weibull accelerated failure time model was used to examine the association between AST/ALT categories and subsequent CKD onset because the proportional hazards assumption was violated.ResultsOf 6309 men and 9192 women, 2966 men and 4395 women remained in the final cohort. After a mean follow-up of 7.50 years for men and 8.34 years for women, 33.7% of men and 34.0% of women developed CKD. Women had higher AST/ALT than men. In women, a dose-response relationship was observed, with a 9% shorter survival time to CKD onset for AST/ALT ≥1.5 compared with AST/ALT <1.0. In contrast, men had a shorter survival time to CKD onset by point estimates, but the 95% confidence intervals crossed 1 in all models.ConclusionsIn this study comparing the risks of CKD development in non-diabetic men and women by AST/ALT levels, a dose-response relationship was only observed in women. Differences in the distribution of AST/ALT by sex may have affected the results. Therefore, in non-diabetic Japanese women, AST/ALT may be used as an indicator of future CKD development.