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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Pharmacol.
Sec. Gastrointestinal and Hepatic Pharmacology
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fphar.2024.1437479

Mild-moderate alcohol consumption and diabetes are associated with liver fibrosis in patients with biopsy-proven MASLD

Provisionally accepted
Ang Huang Ang Huang 1,2Cailun Zou Cailun Zou 3Zhe Dai Zhe Dai 4Ying Sun Ying Sun 1Jing Wang Jing Wang 5Shuhong Liu Shuhong Liu 1Lin Han Lin Han 1Songhai Chen Songhai Chen 1Qingsheng Liang Qingsheng Liang 1Chunyan Wang Chunyan Wang 1Yingjie Zhuang Yingjie Zhuang 1Tong Dang Tong Dang 5BINXIA CHANG BINXIA CHANG 1Yijin Wang Yijin Wang 4Zhengsheng Zou Zhengsheng Zou 1*
  • 1 Fifth Medical Center of Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing, China
  • 2 The First Medical Center of Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing, China
  • 3 China-Japan Friendship Hospital, Beijing, Beijing Municipality, China
  • 4 Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, China
  • 5 Second Affiliated Hospital of Baotou Medical College, Baotou, Inner Mongolia, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Background: It is unclear whether patients with metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) are allowed variable low levels of alcohol. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of mild-moderate alcohol consumption on the biochemical and histological characteristics of patients with MASLD. Methods: Alcohol consumption was assessed in 713 patients with MASLD who underwent liver biopsy. Non-drinking, mild-moderate drinking, and excessive drinking were defined as 0 g/day, 1-<20 g/day, and >20 g/day for women and 0 g/day, 1-<30 g/day, and >30 g/day for men, respectively. Liver biopsies were scored according to the NASH CRN system. Results: A total of 713 participants (median age 39.0 years and 77.1% male) with biopsy-proven MASLD were enrolled, including 239 nondrinkers, 269 mild-moderate drinkers and 205 excessive drinkers. Excessive drinking was associated with increased risks for lobular inflammation and liver fibrosis compared to nondrinkers and mildmoderate drinkers. Compared with non-drinkers, mild-moderate drinkers had significantly lower odds for steatosis (OR = 0.60, 95% CI = 0.38-0.93, p = 0.025), hepatocellular ballooning (OR = 0.52, 95% CI = 0.29-0.91, p = 0.020) and fibrosis (OR = 0.50, 95% CI = 0.31-0.81, p = 0.005). However, in non-excessive drinkers with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), there was no association between mild-moderate alcohol consumption and liver fibrosis (OR = 0.562, 95% CI = 0.207-1.530, p = 0.257). Conclusions: Mild-moderate alcohol consumption might be protective against liver fibrosis in MASLD patients, which is modified by the presence of T2DM. However, further longitudinal studies are needed to determine the effect of ongoing alcohol consumption on disease severity.

    Keywords: MASLD, metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease, mild-moderate alcohol consumption, Fibrosis stage, type 2 diabetes mellitus, Multivariate logistic regression

    Received: 23 May 2024; Accepted: 17 Jul 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Huang, Zou, Dai, Sun, Wang, Liu, Han, Chen, Liang, Wang, Zhuang, Dang, CHANG, Wang and Zou. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Zhengsheng Zou, Fifth Medical Center of Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing, China

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