Abstract :
Background: Reference interval is the common tools used for interpreting various biochemical parameters.
The age, gender, diet, ethnicity, socioeconomic conditions affect the physiology of population and thereby
affecting the reference intervals. Thus, it is needed to set up our own reference intervals which are specific
to particular gender, region and population.
Aim and Objectives: To establish the gender specific reference interval for hepatic enzymes at BIMS
Hospital, Belagavi.
Materials and Methods: This was a hospital based cross-sectional study involving 450 subjects. The
selected subjects were from the general population, health professionals, medical students and those
attending the Out-Patient Department (OPD) for general health check ups. The serum Alanine transaminase
(ALT), serum Aspartate transaminase (AST), serum Alkaline phosphatase (ALP) were estimated based
on the recommendations of IFCC without pyridoxal phosphate and serum Gamma glutamyl transferase
(GGT) by enzymatic colorimetric method. The 97.5th percentile and 2.5th percentile was used to obtain the
reference intervals.
Results: The serum AST and serum GGT showed the statistically significant difference between the male
and female values. Thus separate reference should be considered for both males and females. There was no
statistically significant difference in serum ALT and serum ALP levels. Thus generalized reference intervals
were established.
Conclusion: The study revealed the difference in reference intervals of serum AST and serum GGT
between males and females.
Keyword :
Hepatic enzymes, Reference intervals, AST, ALT, GGT, ALP.