Alcohol intake and obesity independently aggravate cirrhosis morbidity: Study

UK: According to an article published in the Hepatology journal, obesity and alcohol consumption are both independent risk factors for cirrhosis morbidity, but they do not combine supra-additively to affect the cumulative incidence of this condition.

Alcohol consumption and body mass index (BMI) are assumed to interact supra-additively to modulate the risk of cirrhosis, however evidence for this is scarce. As a result, Hamish Innes and colleagues looked into the impact of alcohol and BMI on the incidence of cirrhosis morbidity in the United Kingdom Biobank (UKB) research participants.

The primary outcome was the cumulative incidence of cirrhosis morbidity, which was defined as a first-time cirrhosis hospitalization (with noncirrhosis mortality incorporated as a competing risk). The analysis included all UKB participants who had not previously been admitted to a hospital for cirrhosis. According to BMI, the ratio of the 10-year cumulative incidence among dangerous drinkers versus safe drinkers was calculated. Individuals with obesity and/or harmful alcohol had an elevated cumulative incidence of 10 years when compared to healthy drinkers with a BMI of 20-25.0 kg/m2.