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Abstract Details
Impact of alcohol on the progression of HCV-related liver disease: A systematic review and meta-analysis
J Hepatol. 2021 Apr 20;S0168-8278(21)00253-1. doi: 10.1016/j.jhep.2021.04.018.Online ahead of print.
Laura Llamosas-Falcón1, Kevin D Shield2, Maya Gelovany3, Omer S M Hasan4, Jakob Manthey5, Maristela Monteiro6, Nick Walsh6, Jürgen Rehm7
Author information
1Preventive Medicine and Public Health, Hospital Universitario 12 de Octubre, Avda de Córdoba s/n, 28041 - Madrid, Spain; Institute for Mental Health Policy Research, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, 33 Russell Street, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M5S 2S1. Electronic address: jtrehm@gmail.com.
2Institute for Mental Health Policy Research, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, 33 Russell Street, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M5S 2S1; Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, 155 College Street, Toronto, ON, M5T 1P8, Canada; World Health Organization / Pan American Health Organization Collaborating Centre, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, 33 Ursula Franklin Street, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M5S 2S1.
3Institute for Mental Health Policy Research, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, 33 Russell Street, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M5S 2S1.
4Institute for Mental Health Policy Research, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, 33 Russell Street, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M5S 2S1; Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, 155 College Street, Toronto, ON, M5T 1P8, Canada.
5Center for Interdisciplinary Addiction Research (ZIS), Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE), Martinistraße 52, 20246 Hamburg, Germany; Institute of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy & Center of Clinical Epidemiology and Longitudinal Studies (CELOS), Technische Universität Dresden, Chemnitzer Str. 46, 01187 Dresden, Germany; Department of Psychiatry, Medical Faculty, University of Leipzig, Semmelweisstraße 10, 04103 Leipzig, Germany.
6Pan American Health Organization/ WHO Regional Office for the Americas, 525 23rd St, Washington DC 20037, USA.
7Institute for Mental Health Policy Research, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, 33 Russell Street, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M5S 2S1; Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, 155 College Street, Toronto, ON, M5T 1P8, Canada; World Health Organization / Pan American Health Organization Collaborating Centre, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, 33 Ursula Franklin Street, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M5S 2S1; Center for Interdisciplinary Addiction Research (ZIS), Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE), Martinistraße 52, 20246 Hamburg, Germany; Institute of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy & Center of Clinical Epidemiology and Longitudinal Studies (CELOS), Technische Universität Dresden, Chemnitzer Str. 46, 01187 Dresden, Germany; Campbell Family Mental Health Research Institute, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, 33 Russell Street, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M5T 2S1; Faculty of Medicine, Institute of Medical Science, University of Toronto, Medical Sciences Building, 1 King's College Circle, Room 2374, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M5S 1A8; Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, 250 College Street, 8th floor, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M5T 1R8; Department of International Health Projects, Institute for Leadership and Health Management, I.M. Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University, Trubetskaya str., 8, b. 2, 119992, Moscow, Russian Federation. Electronic address: jtrehm@gmail.com.
Abstract
Introduction: Despite a marked reduction in new cases of liver cirrhosis caused by hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, over 500,000 new cirrhosis cases in this category were estimated globally in 2019. This contribution quantifies the relationship between alcohol use and the progression of liver disease in people with HCV infections.
Materials and methods: The causal impact of different levels of alcohol use on liver cirrhosis has previously been established. The quantification of this relationship was undertaken based on a systematic search of the literature and a meta-analysis. We limited our search to longitudinal and case-control studies with biologically verified outcomes. Different sensitivity analyses were conducted to check on key assumptions and on the generalizability of the relationship.
Results: Alcohol use has a dose-dependent relationship with incident liver cirrhosis, which is linear on the log-linear level, and thus exponential on the level of Odds Ratios or other risk indicators. Each standard drink of 12 grams pure alcohol per day increases the risk by about 11%. The results were stable regardless of the statistical model used, level of adjustment, quality of the study, or outcome (i.e., liver cirrhosis, decompensated liver cirrhosis, liver deaths).
Conclusions: Alcohol use has a marked impact on the progression of HCV infections to liver cirrhosis and more severe liver outcomes.
Lay summary: Alcohol consumption has a significant impact on the progression of liver disease in people with HCV infections. Each alcoholic drink per day is associated with an increase in the risk of liver cirrhosis of 11%.