Modest alcohol consumption and risk of advanced liver fibrosis in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Karn Wijarnpreecha, Elizabeth S. Aby, Panadeekarn Panjawatanan, Kamolyut Lapumnuaypol, Wisit Cheungpasitporn, Frank J. Lukens, Denise M. Harnois, Patompong Ungprasert

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Background Recent studies have suggested an association between modest alcohol consumption and a decreased risk of advanced liver fibrosis among patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) although the results are inconsistent. The current systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted to comprehensively investigate this possible association by identifying all the relevant studies and combining their results. Methods A comprehensive literature review was conducted utilizing the MEDLINE and EMBASE databases through February 2019 to identify all cross-sectional studies that compared the prevalence of advanced liver fibrosis among NAFLD patients who were modest alcohol drinkers to NAFLD patients who were non-drinkers. Effect estimates from each study were extracted and combined together using the random-effect, generic inverse variance method of DerSimonian and Laird. Results A total of 6 studies with 8,936 participants fulfilled the eligibility criteria and were included in the meta-analysis. The risk of advanced liver fibrosis among patients with NAFLD who were modest alcohol drinkers was significantly lower compared to patients with NAFLD who were non-drinkers with a pooled odds ratio of 0.51 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.35-0.75; I2 47%). The funnel plot was symmetric and was not suggestive of publication bias. Conclusion A significantly lower risk of advanced liver fibrosis was observed among NAFLD patients who were modest alcohol drinkers compared to non-drinkers in this meta-analysis.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)568-574
Number of pages7
JournalAnnals of Gastroenterology
Volume34
Issue number4
DOIs
StatePublished - Jul 16 2021

Keywords

  • Alcohol
  • Hepatic steatosis
  • Liver fibrosis
  • Meta-analysis
  • Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Gastroenterology

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