Abnormal liver enzymes in outpatients with eating disorders

• Published in: The International journal of eating disorders Vol. 20; no. 3; pp. 325 - 329
• Main Authors: Mickley, D. (Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT.), Greenfeld, D, Quinlan, D.M, Roloff, P, Zwas, F
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York, NY Wiley 01.11.1996; Wiley Subscription Services, Inc
• Subjects: Adolescent; adolescents; Adult; Adult and adolescent clinical studies; ADULTE; ADULTOS; adults; ALANINA AMINOTRANSFERASA; ALANINE AMINOTRANSFERASE; alanine transaminase; Alanine Transaminase - metabolism; aminoacyltransferases; Anorexia; Anorexia nervosa; ASPARTATE AMINOTRANSFERASE; Aspartate Aminotransferases; Aspartate Aminotransferases - metabolism; aspartate transaminase; ASPARTATO AMINOTRANSFERASA; binging; Biological and medical sciences; blood serum; body mass index; body weight; Bulimia; Child; children; diagnosis; Eating behavior disorders; Eating disorders; ENFANT; Enzymes; enzymology; Feeding and Eating Disorders; Feeding and Eating Disorders - diagnosis; Feeding and Eating Disorders - enzymology; Female; FOIE; FONCTION PHYSIOLOGIQUE; FUNCION FISIOLOGICA; gamma-Glutamyltransferase; gamma-Glutamyltransferase - metabolism; HIGADO; Humans; JEUNESSE; JUVENTUD; Liver; Liver - enzymology; liver function; Male; Medical sciences; metabolism; Middle Aged; NINOS; patients; PESO; POIDS; Predictive Value of Tests; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychopathology. Psychiatry; SERUM SANGUIN; Severity of Illness Index; SUERO SANGUINEO; TRANSFERASAS; TRANSFERASE; TRASTORNOS ALIMENTICIOS; TROUBLE ALIMENTAIRE; United States; United States; Human; Enzyme; Transferases; Liver; Body weight; Anorexia nervosa; Eating disorder; Aminoacyltransferases; γ-Glutamyltransferase; Bulimia; Body mass index; Transaminases; Aspartate transaminase; Alanine transaminase; Quantitative analysis
• ISSN: 0276-3478; 1098-108X
• DOI: 10.1002/(SICI)1098-108X(199611)20:3<325::AID-EAT13>3.0.CO;2-Z

Objective: This study was undertaken to screen a large series of outpatients with anorexia or bulimia for liver enzyme abnormalities, examining their frequency and their clinical correlates. Method: Eight hundred seventy-nine eating-disordered outpatients presenting at a suburban clinic constituted the subject population. Serum glutamic oxalacetic transaminase, serum glutamic pyruvate transaminase, and gamma glutamyl transpeptidase (SGOT, SGPT, and GGTP, respectively) were drawn at intake. Medical charts were reviewed to obtain further clinical data on all patients with an enzyme elevation. Results: Liver enzymes were abnormally high in 36 patients (4.1%). Elevated SGPT was the most frequent enzyme abnormality and was correlated with lower current and past weight and body mass index (BMI). Discussion: Hepatic dysfunction in eating-disordered outpatients is neither specific nor common. Low weight alone can cause liver damage, yet elevated liver chemistries in patients with anorexia and especially bulima are often not due to their eating disorder