According to Dr. Ha Lam Lam, Head of the Department of Infectious Diseases, An Trinh Hospital, Beijing, increased liver enzymes do not mean that a person has hepatitis B. Increased transaminase can stem from many causes and needs to be checked to determine it accurately.
Fatty liver even without alcohol
This is a cause that many people easily overlook. Overweight, belly fat, metabolic disorders or a diet with excess energy can cause fat to accumulate in the liver, causing damage to liver cells and increasing liver enzymes.
Doctor Dao Hong, Deputy Head of the Department of Endocrinology - Metabolism, An Trinh Hospital, Beijing, said that fatty liver is closely related to metabolic disorders; even people who are not too fat on the outside can still accumulate visceral fat and get fatty liver.
Viral hepatitis
Hepatitis A, B, C, D, E can all cause damage to liver cells and increase ALT, AST. Therefore, when liver enzymes increase for a long time or increase significantly, doctors may prescribe hepatitis virus tests to find the cause.
According to Han Anh, Deputy Head of the Liver and Gallbladder Association of the Chinese Medical Association, Head of the Department of Gastroenterology, Tay Kinh Hospital of the University of Military Medicine of the Air Force, in addition to viruses, many other factors such as alcohol, metabolic disorders, drugs and autoimmune diseases can also cause hepatitis.
Medicines, supplements and "tonics
Some people think that functional foods or herbal medicines are always safe, so they use them on their own for a long time. However, many drugs and metabolites must be processed through the liver, which can cause liver damage in some people.
Experts warn of special caution against unnecessary drugs, supplements and products of unknown ingredients; should not self-medicate with "family remedies" or advertised products that have healing effects.
Overexertion, lack of sleep and irregular eating
Liver enzyme increases are not always caused by a serious condition. Experts say that staying up late, overworking, high-intensity exercise and eating a lot of grease can also cause transaminase to temporarily increase in some people.
Therefore, when detecting increased liver enzymes, you should not only think about alcohol or buying medicine to drink on your own. Patients should consider the degree of increase, re-examine according to the doctor's instructions and find the specific cause. If the index increases significantly, persistently or is accompanied by jaundice, fatigue, and pain in the right hypochondrium, it is necessary to see a doctor early.
