Prevalence of Elevated Liver Enzymes and Its Association with Diabetes
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Background: Diabetes mellitus is a chronic metabolic disorder associated with multisystem complications, including hepatic biochemical dysfunction. Elevated liver enzymes may reflect subclinical hepatocellular injury, metabolic fatty liver disease, insulin resistance, and broader metabolic dysregulation in diabetic individuals. Objective: To determine the prevalence of elevated liver enzymes and assess their association with diabetes mellitus, glycemic control, obesity, and dyslipidemia. Methods: This comparative cross-sectional study was conducted at the Biochemistry and Pathology Laboratory of Social Security Hospital, Lahore, over four months. A total of 200 participants were enrolled, including 100 diabetic and 100 non-diabetic individuals. After overnight fasting, venous blood samples were collected and analyzed for fasting blood glucose, HbA1c, alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, alkaline phosphatase, and gamma-glutamyl transferase. Biochemical parameters were compared between groups, and associations between elevated liver enzymes and metabolic risk factors were assessed. Results: Diabetic participants had significantly higher mean fasting blood glucose, HbA1c, ALT, AST, ALP, and GGT levels than non-diabetic participants. At least one elevated liver enzyme was observed in 84.0% of diabetic participants compared with 11.0% of non-diabetic participants. Elevated liver enzymes were also more frequent among participants with poor glycemic control, high fasting blood glucose, obesity, and dyslipidemia. Conclusion: Elevated liver enzymes were markedly more prevalent among diabetic individuals and were strongly associated with poor glycemic control and metabolic risk factors, supporting routine liver function assessment in diabetic care
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