Serum gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase level and blood pressure in nondrinkers: a possible pathogenetic role of fatty liver in obesity-related hypertension.

Relationships between body mass index, blood pressure (BP) and serum gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase levels were analysed in 859 male and 2,456 female nondrinkers aged 18-59 years. Serum gamma-GTP levels correlated with BP independently of age and body mass index in both men and women. The changes in BP of 391 male nondrinkers aged 35-54 years during a five year period correlated with the changes in serum gamma-GTP levels, independently of BP levels, age, body mass index and serum gamma-GTP at the beginning of the follow-up, and of the changes in body mass index. As the rise in serum gamma-GTP levels in nondrinkers depends largely on the progression in fatty change in the liver cells accompanying increases in the size of body mass, these results suggest a close association between the development of fatty liver and hypertension in obese persons.