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Ethnicity increases risk for alcoholic liver disease

People of ethnic origin, mainly Hispanics, had an increased risk for alcoholic liver disease compared with Caucasians, according to new study data.

“For the first time, we showed that Hispanics present at a 4 to 10 years younger age than Caucasians and African Americans, and that ethnicity could predict the age of presentation of alcoholic fatty liver and alcoholic hepatitis,” researcher Valentina Medici, MD, associate professor of internal medicine at UC Davis Health System, Sacramento, Calif., said in a press release. “In addition, alcoholic Hispanics tend to be more frequently obese and diabetic than the other ethnicities, indicative of a possibly more severe disease.”

Valentina Medici

Medici and colleagues conducted a retrospective review of 791 patients with alcoholic liver disease (ALD) admitted to UC Davis Medical Center between 2002 and 2010. Of these patients, 130 had alcoholic fatty liver, 154 had alcoholic hepatitis and 507 had alcoholic cirrhosis.

Overall, Hispanic patients had alcoholic fatty liver, alcoholic hepatitis and alcoholic cirrhosis between 4 and 10 years younger than white patients and alcoholic cirrhosis 5 years younger than black patients. Hispanics without metabolic syndrome with fatty liver or cirrhosis were younger than white patients (P = .01 for both). For alcoholic hepatitis, Hispanic patients had earlier presentation compared with white patients when controlling for variables (P = .016). In patients with alcoholic cirrhosis, but not metabolic syndrome, Hispanic patients had a younger age of presentation than both white and black patients (P = .001, P = .013).

Positive HCV RNA was more prevalent in black patients with alcoholic hepatitis compared to white patients. Hispanic patients with alcoholic cirrhosis, alcoholic hepatitis and alcoholic fatty liver were more likely to be obese compared with white patients, according to the research. Hispanic patients with alcoholic cirrhosis or alcoholic hepatitis were more likely to be men than white patients. More Hispanic patients were binge drinkers compared with white (P = .040) and black patients (P = .007).

“Hispanics may find it important to know that heavy drinkers can develop ALD at a younger age, that obesity contributes to this risk and that preventative steps should be taken if their relatives or friends engage in risky drinking behavior,” Medici said. “In addition, primary care physicians in the community will want to screen regularly for the presence and extent of alcohol drinking, as well as the potential contributing factors of obesity and ethnicity as high risk factors for the development of [ALD] in their high alcohol-consuming patients.”

Disclosure: Medici received funds from the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology at UC Davis. Please see the full study for a list of all other authors’ relevant financial disclosures.