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Gamma-glutamyltransferase: an effect modifier in the association between age and hypertension in a 4-year follow-up study

Journal of Human Hypertension volume 18, pages 803–807 (2004)Cite this article

Abstract

We performed a prospective study to assess whether the relationship of age with hypertension was stronger in men with high normal serum gamma glutamyltransferase (GGT) than in those with lower GGT levels. The study population included 8170 healthy male workers in a steel manufacturing company who had undergone health examinations in both 1994 and 1998. The higher the baseline GGT level, the effect of age on the development of hypertension was stronger. The incidence of hypertension among those aged 25–34, 35–44 and 45–50 years was 0.9, 2.2, 3.8% in those with GGT<20 U/l; 1.0, 4.1, 12.5% in those with GGT between 20 and 39 U/l; and 1.9, 6.3, 17.2% in those with GGT⩾40 U/l, respectively. All relationships persisted after adjusting for baseline values of body mass index, alcohol intake, smoking, exercise, family history of hypertension, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, and changes of body mass index during 4 years (P for interaction=0.03). Our data supported the hypothesis that the effect of age on the development of hypertension differed by baseline GGT level, although the underlying mechanism for this interaction is unclear.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Preventive Medicine and Health Promotion Research Center, School of Medicine, Kyungpook University, Daegu, Korea

    D-H Lee, K-Y Kim & D-G Jin

  2. Health Care Center, Pohang Steel Company, Pohang, Korea

    M-H Ha

  3. Division of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA

    D R Jacobs Jr

  4. Institute for Nutrition Research, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway

    D R Jacobs Jr

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  1. D-H Lee
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  2. M-H Ha
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Correspondence to D-H Lee.

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Lee, DH., Ha, MH., Kim, KY. et al. Gamma-glutamyltransferase: an effect modifier in the association between age and hypertension in a 4-year follow-up study. J Hum Hypertens 18, 803–807 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.jhh.1001742

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