gamma-Glutamyltransferase as a Risk Factor for Cardiovascular Disease Mortality
GGT is normally thought of as a marker of liver or gall bladder dysfunction (it is called a liver “function” test, but is actually looked for dead cells spilling more of the enzymes into the bloodstream–hardly a marker of “function” if you ask me…), but has been gaining increased popularity as a marker of CVD and insulin resistance. So, chalk yet another marker up for risk of insulin resistance and CVD. One thing I have not seen mentioned, however, is whether the relationship is direct or indirect.
Insulin resistance is known to cause an elevation of liver enzymes and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (or called non-alcoholic fatty liver disease- NAFLD). So, is this just another marker of the damage that insulin resistance is doing, or does the GGT have a direct relationship to CVD? And does it matter??