Sensitivity, Specificity and Diagnostic Efficiency of Serum Sialic Acid as a Biochemical Marker in Alcohol Abuse

Background: Many biochemical markers have been used for detection of alcohol abuse, but each of them has clinical limitations. Sialic acid (SA) has been suggested as a new potential marker of excessive alcohol consumption. Aim: To compare the sensitivity, specificity and diagnostic efficiency of serum Sialic acid with other traditional markers like AST (Aspartate amino transaminase), ALT (Alanine amino transaminase), GGT (Gamma Glutamyl Transferase), as a marker of alcohol abuse. Methods: This was a case-control study conducted on 100 subjects. Alcohol dependent subjects without liver disease (cases = 50) and healthy subjects (controls = 50) were considered for the study. Sera from the subjects were analyzed for SA manually by modified Warren’s Colorimetric assay and AST, ALT, GGT were estimated by auto analyzer. Statistical analysis: Student t test (two tailed, independent) has been used to find the significance of study parameters between controls and cases. Receiving Operating Characteristics (ROC) tool has been used to find the diagnostic performance of study parameters. Results: There was significant elevation (p<0.001) of AST, ALT, GTT and SA in alcohol dependent subjects when compared to the controls. Diagnostic efficacy was more for GGT followed by AST and SA as a marker of alcohol abuse. Conclusion: Sialic acid can be used as a biochemical marker in alcohol abuse, where secondary effects of liver disease hamper the use of traditional markers.