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Abstract Details
Effects of Moderate Alcohol Consumption in Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease
J Clin Med. 2022 Feb 8;11(3):890. doi: 10.3390/jcm11030890.
Peter Lemmer12, Paul Manka1, Jan Best1, Alisan Kahraman3, Julia Kälsch3, Ramiro Vilchez-Vargas2, Alexander Link2, Hsin Chiang3, Guido Gerken3, Ali Canbay1, Lars P Bechmann1, Svenja Sydor1
Author information
Department of Internal Medicine, University Hospital Knappschaftskrankenhaus, Ruhr-University Bochum, 44892 Bochum, Germany.
Department of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Infectious Diseases, Otto-von-Guericke-University Magdeburg, 39120 Magdeburg, Germany.
Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, University Hospital, University Duisburg-Essen, 45147 Essen, Germany.
Abstract
Alcoholic liver disease (ALD) and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) have emerged as leading causes of chronic liver diseases worldwide. ALD and NAFLD share several pathophysiological patterns as well as histological features, while clinically, they are distinguished by the amount of alcohol consumed daily. However, NAFLD coexists with moderate alcohol consumption in a growing proportion of the population. Here, we investigated the effects of moderate alcohol consumption on liver injury, lipid metabolism, and gut microbiota in 30 NAFLD-patients. We anonymously assessed drinking habits, applying the AUDIT- and CAGE-questionnaires and compared subgroups of abstainers vs. low to harmful alcohol consumers (AUDIT) and Cage 0-1 vs. Cage 2-4. Patients who did not drink any alcohol had lower levels of γGT, ALT, triglycerides, and total cholesterol. While the abundance of Bacteroidaceae, Bifidobacteriaceae, Streptococcaceae, and Ruminococcaceae was higher in the low to harmful alcohol drinking cohort, the abundance of Rikenellaceae was higher in the abstainers. Our study suggests that even moderate alcohol consumption has an impact on the liver and lipid metabolism, as well as on the composition of gut microbiota.