Weight loss, Diabetes control, Coffee intake tied to lower risk of Cirrhosis: Study

Variation in susceptibility may be due to genetic variation and/or presence of other environmental and lifestyle risk factors, which increase the probability of liver damage. Apart from alcohol intake and sex, obesity (also associated with nonalcoholic liver disease) has the strongest evidence for increasing risk of alcohol-related cirrhosis.

In a recent development researchers have pointed out that, significant associations exist between the family history of liver disease; diabetes and obesity; tea, coffee, wine, and cannabis consumption; and risk of cirrhosis. The team further confirmed that Sustained high alcohol intake is necessary but not sufficient to produce alcohol-related cirrhosis. Identification of risk factors, apart from lifetime alcohol exposure, would assist in discovery of mechanisms and prediction of risk , they suggested.

The GenomALC Consortium (²⁴) was initiated to gather data and samples for identification of risk factors for alcohol-related cirrhosis, including a case-control genetic association study.

Researchers conducted a multicenter case-control study (GenomALC) comparing 1,293 cases (with alcohol-related cirrhosis, 75.6% male) and 754 controls (with equivalent alcohol exposure but no evidence of liver disease, 73.6% male). Information confirming or excluding cirrhosis, and on alcohol intake and other potential risk factors, was obtained from clinical records and by interview. Case-control differences in risk factors discovered in the GenomALC participants were validated using similar data from 407 cases and 6,573 controls from UK Biobank.

Data analysis revealed the following facts.

• The GenomALC case and control groups reported similar lifetime alcohol intake (1,374 vs 1,412 kg). Cases had a higher prevalence of diabetes (20.5% (262/1,288) vs 6.5% (48/734), P = 2.27 × 10−18) and higher premorbid body mass index (26.37 ± 0.16 kg/m2) than controls (24.44 ± 0.18 kg/m2, P = 5.77 × 10−15).
• Controls were significantly more likely to have been wine drinkers, coffee drinkers, smokers, and cannabis users than cases.
• Cases reported a higher proportion of parents who died of liver disease than controls (odds ratio 2.25 95% confidence interval 1.55–3.26).
• Data from UK Biobank confirmed these findings for diabetes, body mass index, proportion of alcohol as wine, and coffee consumption.

"If these relationships are causal, measures such as weight loss, intensive treatment of diabetes or prediabetic states, and coffee consumption should reduce the risk of alcohol-related cirrhosis."concluded the team.

For full article follow the link: doi: 10.14309/ajg.0000000000000833

Primary source: The American Journal of Gastroenterology