Repeatedly elevated γ-glutamyltransferase levels are associated with an increased incidence of digestive cancers: A population-based cohort study

Table 1 Baseline characteristics according to the γ-glutamyltransferase points

			Total	GGT points1
				0	1	2	3	4
Men			2569773	1595879	260084	177029	181702	355079
Age, yr			42.41 ± 10.53	41.64 ± 10.84	43.19 ± 10.47	43.31 ± 10.13	43.64 ± 9.82	44.19 ± 9.29
Smoking
		Non-smoker	720342 (28.03)	511103 (32.03)	65347 (25.13)	39900 (22.54)	37994 (20.91)	65998 (18.59)
		Ex-smoker	662215 (25.77)	410064 (25.7)	70316 (27.04)	47571 (26.87)	47955 (26.39)	86309 (24.31)
		Current	1187216 (46.2)	674712 (42.28)	124421 (47.84)	89558 (50.59)	95753 (52.7)	202772 (57.11)
Alcohol consumption
		No	720354 (28.03)	540201 (33.85)	64798 (24.91)	36701 (20.73)	32092 (17.66)	46562 (13.11)
		Mild	1583612 (61.62)	952992 (59.72)	165116 (63.49)	114805 (64.85)	118787 (65.37)	231912 (65.31)
		Heavy	265807 (10.34)	102686 (6.43)	30170 (11.6)	25523 (14.42)	30823 (16.96)	76605 (21.57)
Lowest quartile of yearly income (Q1)			399370 (15.54)	244182 (15.3)	42615 (16.39)	28596 (16.15)	28873 (15.89)	55104 (15.52)
Regular PA			790381 (30.76)	496084 (31.09)	80897 (31.1)	54551 (30.81)	55753 (30.68)	103096 (29.03)
BMI (kg/m2)			24.19 ± 3.01	23.55 ± 2.79	24.71 ± 2.91	25.1 ± 2.98	25.34 ± 3.03	25.64 ± 3.13
WC (cm)			83.14 ± 7.56	81.48 ± 7.16	84.46 ± 7.22	85.43 ± 7.25	86.08 ± 7.33	86.96 ± 7.45
SBP (mmHg)			123.78 ± 12.99	122 ± 12.45	124.88 ± 12.85	125.93 ± 13.02	126.8 ± 13.23	128.37 ± 13.68
DBP (mmHg)			77.98 ± 9.17	76.71 ± 8.79	78.75 ± 9.07	79.51 ± 9.16	80.19 ± 9.32	81.27 ± 9.6
Hypertension			543619 (21.15)	249986 (15.66)	63584 (24.45)	48861 (27.6)	55827 (30.72)	125361 (35.31)
Dyslipidemia			394282 (15.34)	169026 (10.59)	47739 (18.36)	37512 (21.19)	42552 (23.42)	97453 (27.45)
Diabetes
	No		1747553 (68)	1178083 (73.82)	168406 (64.75)	108469 (61.27)	105608 (58.12)	186987 (52.66)
	IFG		633865 (24.67)	343650 (21.53)	69127 (26.58)	50151 (28.33)	54139 (29.8)	116798 (32.89)
	DM		188355 (7.33)	74146 (4.65)	22551 (8.67)	18409 (10.4)	21955 (12.08)	51294 (14.45)
Fasting glucose (mg/dL)			97.2 ± 22.15	94.38 ± 18.25	98.47 ± 22.98	100.13 ± 24.85	101.84 ± 26.59	105.13 ± 29.72
Total cholesterol (mg/dL)			195.09 ± 34.85	190.25 ± 32.83	198.57 ± 34.96	201.16 ± 35.5	202.95 ± 36.32	207.29 ± 37.85
LDL (mg/dL)			112.94 ± 32.32	112.28 ± 30.41	114.88 ± 33.13	114.76 ± 34.14	114.17 ± 35.16	112.95 ± 37.16
HDL (mg/dL)			52.16 ± 13.63	52.38 ± 13.38	51.6 ± 13.93	51.57 ± 14.01	51.58 ± 13.9	52.18 ± 14.14
Triglyceride (mg/dL)2			129.81 (129.72-129.9)	112.69 (112.6-112.78)	141.48 (141.19-141.77)	154 (153.61-154.38)	164.57 (164.16-164.98)	187.2 (186.86-187.54)
AST (IU/L)2			25.9 (25.89-25.91)	23.64 (23.63-23.65)	27.11 (27.08-27.15)	28.47 (28.43-28.51)	29.84 (29.79-29.89)	33.52 (33.47-33.56)
ALT (IU/L)2			26.41 (26.4-26.43)	22.44 (22.43-22.46)	29.54 (29.49-29.6)	32.15 (32.07-32.22)	34.42 (34.34-34.51)	40.07 (40-40.14)
GGT (U/L)2			36.3 (36.28-36.33)	24.79 (24.78-24.81)	43.21 (43.14-43.27)	53.64 (53.54-53.73)	66.15 (66.02-66.28)	107.44 (107.26-107.61)
Women			989336	566518	153299	83247	70183	116089
Age, yr			41.61 ± 11.55	39.36 ± 11.04	42.51 ± 11.54	44.13 ± 11.57	45.34 ± 11.47	47.33 ± 10.9
Smoking
		Non-smoker	950040 (96.03)	547422 (96.63)	147238 (96.05)	79376 (95.35)	66593 (94.88)	109411 (94.25)
		Ex-smoker	16273 (1.64)	8976 (1.58)	2493 (1.63)	1454 (1.75)	1294 (1.84)	2056 (1.77)
		Current	23023 (2.33)	10120 (1.79)	3568 (2.33)	2417 (2.9)	2296 (3.27)	4622 (3.98)
Alcohol consumption
		No	661884 (66.9)	383621 (67.72)	103332 (67.41)	55147 (66.25)	45838 (65.31)	73946 (63.7)
		Mild	318233 (32.17)	179199 (31.63)	48446 (31.6)	26984 (32.41)	23345 (33.26)	40259 (34.68)
		Heavy	9219 (0.93)	3698 (0.65)	1521 (0.99)	1116 (1.34)	1000 (1.42)	1884 (1.62)
Lowest quartile of yearly income (Q1)			365612 (36.96)	181102 (31.97)	61625 (40.2)	35775 (42.97)	31499 (44.88)	55611 (47.9)
Regular PA			270758 (27.37)	155736 (27.49)	42388 (27.65)	22839 (27.44)	18923 (26.96)	30872 (26.59)
BMI (kg/m2)			22.45 ± 3.22	21.79 ± 2.82	22.56 ± 3.15	23.14 ± 3.39	23.64 ± 3.53	24.36 ± 3.71
WC (cm)			73.52 ± 8.28	71.77 ± 7.42	73.86 ± 8.07	75.36 ± 8.49	76.6 ± 8.78	78.47 ± 9.09
SBP (mmHg)			116.17 ± 13.59	114.11 ± 12.72	116.63 ± 13.55	118.33 ± 14.04	119.76 ± 14.23	121.91 ± 14.56
DBP (mmHg)			72.92 ± 9.26	71.68 ± 8.83	73.17 ± 9.25	74.2 ± 9.46	75.08 ± 9.54	76.39 ± 9.73
Hypertension			130992 (13.24)	45016 (7.95)	21361 (13.93)	15255 (18.32)	15700 (22.37)	33660 (28.99)
Dyslipidemia			128796 (13.02)	45810 (8.09)	21112 (13.77)	14928 (17.93)	15084 (21.49)	31862 (27.45)
Diabetes
		No	805990 (81.47)	489351 (86.38)	124149 (80.98)	64211 (77.13)	51316 (73.12)	76963 (66.3)
		IFG	148818 (15.04)	68823 (12.15)	24264 (15.83)	15071 (18.1)	14042 (20.01)	26618 (22.93)
		DM	34528 (3.49)	8344 (1.47)	4886 (3.19)	3965 (4.76)	4825 (6.87)	12508 (10.77)
Fasting glucose (mg/dL)			91.41 ± 16.31	89.21 ± 12.41	91.39 ± 15.32	93.13 ± 17.79	94.99 ± 20.38	98.8 ± 25.3
Total cholesterol (mg/dL)			190.33 ± 34.94	185.48 ± 32.85	191.82 ± 35.03	195.68 ± 35.98	198.31 ± 36.74	203.37 ± 37.76
LDL (mg/dL)			110.02 ± 31.3	106.75 ± 29.16	111.38 ± 31.72	113.91 ± 33.05	115.34 ± 33.97	118.18 ± 35.21
HDL (mg/dL)			60.82 ± 15.16	61.63 ± 14.7	60.57 ± 15.3	59.93 ± 15.73	59.3 ± 15.65	58.74 ± 16.1
Triglyceride (mg/dL)2			85.34 (85.25-85.42)	76.5 (76.4-76.59)	87.69 (87.47-87.91)	95.8 (95.47-96.13)	103.29 (102.89-103.69)	115.13 (114.78-115.49)
AST (IU/L)2			21.38 (21.36-21.39)	20.06 (20.05-20.08)	21.64 (21.61-21.67)	22.58 (22.54-22.63)	23.6 (23.55-23.66)	25.95 (25.89-26)
ALT (IU/L)2			16.82 (16.81-16.84)	14.74 (14.73-14.76)	17.38 (17.34-17.41)	19.11 (19.05-19.17)	20.85 (20.78-20.92)	24.6 (24.53-24.67)
GGT (U/L)2			17.53 (17.51-17.54)	13.52 (13.51-13.53)	18.15 (18.12-18.18)	21.94 (21.89-21.99)	26.28 (26.21-26.35)	39.57 (39.46-39.69)

¹Participants receive 1 point at each examination if γ-glutamyltransferase (GGT) is in the highest quartile at each examination. GGT points were calculated as the sum of points at 4 consecutive examinations.

²Geometric mean. Categorical variables are expressed as numbers (%); continuous variables are expressed means ± SD. PA: Physical activity; BMI: Body mass index; WC: Waist circumference; SBP: Systolic blood pressure; DBP: Diastolic blood pressure; IFG: Impaired fasting glucose; DM: Diabetes mellitus; LDL: Low-density lipoprotein; HDL: High-density lipoprotein; AST: Aspartate aminotransferase; ALT: Alanine aminotransferase; GGT: Gamma-glutamyltransferase.