Liver function test: what an LFT checks and its price in the UAE

A liver function test, or LFT, is a group of blood tests that shows how the liver is coping: whether its cells are under strain, whether bile is flowing freely, and how well it makes proteins. No single number in it is a diagnosis; doctors read the pattern across the results. Clare's panel includes a full liver set, with eight results measured by the lab and four calculated from them.

What the test includes

The name is a little misleading, because most of the results measure strain or blockage rather than how well the liver works. They fall into three groups.

Liver cell enzymes

Alanine Aminotransferase (ALT) and Aspartate Aminotransferase (AST) are enzymes inside liver cells that leak into the blood when those cells are stressed or damaged. ALT is the more liver-specific of the two. AST is also plentiful in muscle and heart, so it can rise after hard exercise or a muscle injury. The AST / ALT Ratio is read as a pattern rather than a number on its own; guidelines combine AST, ALT, age and platelet count in a score called FIB-4 to estimate liver scarring in people with fatty liver.

Bile duct enzymes

Alkaline Phosphatase (ALP) comes mainly from the bile ducts and from bone, with smaller amounts from the gut and kidneys, and it is naturally higher in growing children and in pregnancy. Gamma-Glutamyl Transferase (GGT) is found in the liver but not in bone, so a raised GGT next to a raised ALP points to the liver as the source. GGT also rises with alcohol, excess weight and some medicines.

Bilirubin and proteins

Bilirubin is the yellow pigment left when old red cells are broken down. The lab measures Total Bilirubin and Direct Bilirubin, the share the liver has already processed for removal; Indirect Bilirubin is the rest. Albumin is made by the liver and is the most plentiful protein in blood. Total Protein is albumin plus all the other proteins, and Globulin is what remains once albumin is taken away. Albumin also falls for reasons outside the liver, such as inflammation, protein loss through the kidneys and poor absorption, so it is not read as a liver number on its own.

Who usually asks for one

Liver tests are requested very often: in one Scottish region, a quarter of adults had one over ten years. They are used to look into symptoms such as yellowing of the skin or eyes, to monitor medicines, as part of routine checks, and in people with risk factors for fatty liver, such as type 2 diabetes or obesity with other metabolic risk factors. Guidelines now call this condition metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD), the name that replaced non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.

How the results are read together

Guidelines describe three common patterns. They are patterns a doctor considers, not diagnoses.

• Mainly ALT and AST raised. A hepatocellular pattern, meaning strain on liver cells. Common causes include fatty liver, alcohol, viral hepatitis, autoimmune hepatitis and medicines.
• Mainly ALP and GGT raised. A cholestatic pattern, meaning bile is not flowing freely, for example because of gallstones, narrowed bile ducts or a medicine. A raised ALP with a normal GGT usually points away from the liver; in adults the most common cause is likely low vitamin D, which affects bone. Vitamin D in the UAE covers that test in detail.
• Bilirubin raised on its own. If most of it is indirect and red cell breakdown has been ruled out, the usual explanation is Gilbert's syndrome, an inherited trait found in about 5 to 8% of people that is not linked to liver disease or ill health.

Albumin and the globulins add a fourth view. A low albumin can reflect reduced production by the liver, but also inflammation, loss through the kidneys or poor absorption. A high globulin can come with infections such as tuberculosis, autoimmune disease or some blood cancers, which a doctor may look into with a protein electrophoresis test. The Albumin / Globulin Ratio shows the balance between the two.

How far a result is outside the range is not a reliable guide to how much it matters. That depends on which result is abnormal and on the wider picture.

Range for globulin

Globulin is the group of blood proteins other than albumin, including antibodies and carrier proteins. Clare calculates it as total protein minus albumin. Laboratories set its range differently: in a survey of 13 laboratories in Wales, the upper limit ran from 35 to 45 g/L, and the lower limit from none at all to 20 to 28 g/L. To convert g/L to g/dL, divide by 10. In the same study, a calculated globulin below 18 g/L was used to flag samples for an antibody check, and 89% of those samples had low IgG antibody levels. As with every result, the range on your own report is the one to read against.

What moves liver results

• Exercise. One hour of weightlifting raised AST and ALT in healthy men for at least seven days, while ALP, GGT and bilirubin stayed normal.
• Alcohol and weight. GGT rises with both.
• Medicines and supplements. Prescribed, over-the-counter and herbal products can all affect liver tests, which is why doctors ask about each of them.
• Fasting, dehydration and illness. In people with Gilbert's syndrome these raise indirect bilirubin, so a long fast, including a Ramadan fast, can push it up.
• Pregnancy. ALP rises because the placenta makes it, and albumin falls.
• Age. ALP is higher in children and teenagers while their bones grow.
• The sample. Heavily haemolysed samples are rejected for AST.

Preparing for the test

You may be asked to fast for 10 to 12 hours, especially when liver tests are drawn with other tests. Tell the person taking your blood about any medicines, supplements or herbal products, recent alcohol, and any hard training in the past week, since weightlifting can raise AST and ALT for days. Any change to a medicine before a test is a decision for your doctor.

What a doctor typically looks at next

Guidelines advise reading an abnormal result against earlier results, medical history and current medicines before anything else. Abnormal liver tests often persist: in one study, 84% were still abnormal when repeated a month later. So rather than simply repeating the panel, doctors usually look for the cause. Depending on the pattern, that can include an ultrasound scan, tests for hepatitis B and C, antibody tests for autoimmune liver disease, Ferritin and Transferrin Saturation to check for iron overload, and in people with fatty liver a FIB-4 score.

How Clare's panel handles liver tests

In Clare's panel, ALT, AST, ALP, GGT, total bilirubin, direct bilirubin, total protein and albumin are measured by the lab. Clare calculates four more from them: indirect bilirubin (total bilirubin minus direct bilirubin), globulin (total protein minus albumin), the albumin / globulin ratio (albumin ÷ globulin) and the AST / ALT ratio (AST ÷ ALT). The panel also includes the Platelet Count, which doctors combine with AST, ALT and age in FIB-4. When Clare opens, members will see each result with a plain explanation and, after a repeat test, as a trend.

Liver health in the UAE

In a 2026 study of adults attending Dubai Academic Health Corporation between 2018 and 2023, 49.0% (46,412 people) had at least one risk factor for MASLD: type 2 diabetes, obesity with another cardiometabolic risk factor, or a raised ALT. About a fifth of that group (21.7%) had a FIB-4 score in the moderate to high range, the level at which guidelines suggest further checks for scarring. These were people already using hospital services, so the figures describe that group rather than the whole country. HbA1c, glucose and insulin: reading them together covers the blood sugar side of the same picture.

Price of a liver function test in the UAE

When we read public prices on 11 October 2026, a liver function test cost from 89 to 1,100 at six UAE providers. Five of them listed it at 89 to 199; the 1,100 listing was a specialised hospital package that also includes a hepatitis B test. VAT was rarely stated, some prices included a nurse's home visit, and elsewhere home collection can add a fee.

Related tests

A liver panel is often read with the Platelet Count, for FIB-4; Hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), since type 2 diabetes is one of the main risk factors for fatty liver; and Ferritin, part of the usual check for iron overload when liver enzymes are raised.

Why liver results mean more over time

A single raised ALT after a hard workout or a short illness means something different from one that stays raised for months, which is why guidelines ask doctors to read each result against the ones before it. A trend, whether ALT settling back or GGT drifting up over years, says more than any single reading. There is no fixed schedule for liver tests; how often they are repeated depends on medicines, risk factors and earlier results. Talk to a doctor about any result, with the report in front of you.

Clare is opening with a waitlist at clare.health.