Obesity and diabetes are known risk factors for advanced alcoholic liver disease. Both are also key components of the metabolic syndrome.

The present study estimated the prevalence of metabolic syndrome and its components in a US cohort of adults with alcoholic liver disease and compared it to a historic cohort to determine the changes over time.

Subjects aged >18 years who participated in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey during 2009–2014 served as the contemporary cohort while those who had participated during 1999–2001 formed the historic cohort. Alcoholic liver disease was characterized by excessive alcohol consumption to the level of ≥3 drinks/day for men and ≥2 drinks/day for women, and elevated alanine aminotransferase. Metabolic syndrome was defined on the basis of the updated International Diabetes Federation criteria. A logistic regression analysis was done to help evaluate the differences in metabolic syndrome components between the two period cohorts while adjusting for central obesity.

The mean age for the contemporary cohort was 41.9, with 66.1% male participants. About 66.3% of them had central obesity, 18.7% had type 2 diabetes, 28.3% had low high-density lipoprotein level, 44.8% had hypertriglyceridemia, and 54.7% had hypertension. About 36.9% met the criteria for metabolic syndrome. In comparison with the historic cohort, patients in the contemporary cohort had a higher likelihood of having central obesity (50% vs. 66%), metabolic syndrome (26% vs. 37%), and type 2 diabetes (12% vs. 19%).

The study findings thus point to increasing prevalence of both obesity and metabolic syndrome in alcoholic liver disease patients.

Source: Singh A, Amin H, Garg R, et al. Increased Prevalence of Obesity and Metabolic Syndrome in Patients with Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease. Digestive Diseases and Sciences (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10620-020-06056-1.