NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Doctors, and the public at large, should pay more attention to blood levels of the liver enzyme alanine aminotransferase (ALT), according to recommendations from the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD).

"There is growing evidence that ALT is a marker of general health," Dr. Adrian Di Bisceglie told Reuters Health. "ALT needs to be accorded some respect and attention." Di Bisceglie is chair of the public policy committee for AASLD and professor of internal medicine at St. Louis University.

The relative importance of ALT as a gauge of general health is illustrated by a presentation this week at the AASLD annual meeting in Boston.

Dr. W. Ray Kim and associates at the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine in Rochester, Minnesota studied 6792 residents of Rochester who had their ALT measured at least once in 1995. Abnormally high ALT levels were documented for 907 subjects.

Kim's group observed an increased risk of death for subjects with elevated levels of ALT. Elevated levels of the enzyme increased the risk of death by 63 percent.

In their meeting abstract, the investigators emphasize that the increased death risk included not only death from liver disease, but from all other causes as well.

Findings like these bolster the AASLD's campaign for adoption of ALT as one of the measurements in the Health Plan and Employer Date Information Set (HEDIS) used in accrediting health plans, Di Bisceglie said.

"To be accredited, HEDIS requires that children be vaccinated and that women undergo routine screening for breast cancer, but there is no mention of testing for measures of liver disease."

Many deaths are caused by viral hepatitis, and many deaths are due to fatty liver disease, he continued, "and only a small part of these deaths are due to alcohol and drug abuse," as is often assumed by the public.