Evaluation of Gamma-Glutamine Transferase (γ-GT) as a Marker of Alcohol Abuse

Abstract

Biological markers for alcohol consumption are used in clinical settings to detect and monitor alcohol consumption due to variability in verbal reporting. Alcohol consumption increases serum GGT, a widely used laboratory parameter, with gamma-glutamyl transferase sensitivity being higher than other commonly used markers, as it is known to induce a rise in serum GGT. This study aimed to investigate the role of gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT) activity in heavy and moderate alcoholic male drinkers and controls, categorized by age group. In this cross-sectional study, we analyzed GGT levels in 100 participants, divided into two groups based on alcohol consumption. The first group consumed alcohol for over five years in different amounts (heavy < 280-gram ethanol per week, moderate >280-gram ethanol per week), while the second group consisted of 50 healthy non-alcoholics as a control. Subjects who consumed alcohol had blood GGT levels that were more than three times higher than those of non-drinking subjects (mean 78.06±11.01 U/L), demonstrating a substantial significance with p<0.001 and student t=4.761. the mean serum GGT levels in heavy drinkers was 125.89±109.96 U/L, higher than the mean of moderate drinkers (51.16±29.82) and abstainers (25.12±10.61 U/L), with a strong statistical significance at p<0.001 and F=27. 318. The serum GGT levels were significantly increased in subjects who had alcohol consumption to more than 3 folds when compared with non-alcoholic controls. Hence measurement of GGT in serum appears to be a sensitive index in the diagnosis of alcoholics.