Association of self-reported diseases and health care use with commonly used laboratory markers for alcohol consumption

The relationships of carbohydrate-deficient transferrin (CDT), gamma-glutam yltransferase (GGT) and their mathematical combination (gamma -CDT) with se lf-reported diseases were evaluated in a large cross-sectional risk factor survey. Significant gender effects were observed in associations of the mar kers with several medical conditions as well as with general health care ut ilization. In men, CDT was associated with rheumatoid arthritis. In both ge nders, GGT was positively associated with hypertension and diabetes. gamma -CDT was positively associated with hypertension in males and with asthma i n females. This general population study demonstrates that these markers, a lthough most commonly used to assess alcohol misuse, might also serve as he alth risk indicators.