RESUMO
BACKGROUND: Gamma-glutamyltransferase (GGT), which is an intracellular antioxidant due to maintain intracellular concentrations of glutathione, may be a marker of oxidative stress. In the present study, oxidative stress was thought to be a cause of diabetes mellitus. So, We performed a cross sectional study about the relations between GGT and prevalence of diabetes mellitus. METHODS: In total 5049 healthy men who had visited the Yonsei Wonju Christian Hospital for health care from 1st January 2002 to 31st December 2002, we measured BMI, blood pressure, GGT, total cholesterol, ALT and fasting blood sugar levels. RESULTS: There were strong relations between serum GGT concentrations and age, BMI, total cholesterol, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure and ALT level. GGT level had positive correlations with the prevalence of diabetes mellitus and impaired glucose tolerance when divided into four classes, 0~19 IU/L, 20~39 IU/L, 40~59 IU/L and over 60 IU/L. We got the same results after adjustment with BMI, total cholesterol, blood pressure and ALT level. CONCLUSION: There was a positive correlation between GGT level and the prevalence of diabetes mellitus, and that was definite especially when BMI, total cholesterol, blood pressure and ALT levels were in normal range. We suggest that serum GGT level would be an important marker in the development of diabetes mellitus.