Obesity and Alcohol Act Together to Increase the Risk of Liver Disease

Multitasking the fatso way.

Two studies published online in the British Medical Journal show that obesity and alcohol act together to increase the risk of liver disease in both men and women.

Together, these findings have important clinical and public health implications.

Rates of liver disease and obesity are increasing in the UK. While alcohol is a major cause of liver cirrhosis, recent evidence suggests that excess body weight may also play a role.

In the first study, researchers from the University of Oxford examined the link between body mass index (BMI) and liver cirrhosis in 1.2 million middle-aged UK women as part of the Million Women Study.

Each woman was tracked for an average of 6.2 years, and risks were adjusted for factors such as age, alcohol consumption, smoking, socioeconomic status and physical activity.

Compared to women of a healthy weight, women who were overweight or obese had an increased relative risk of liver cirrhosis. Although this relative risk did not differ significantly by alcohol consumption, the absolute risk did.

For example, among women who reported drinking an average of about a third to half a drink a day, 0.8 in 1000 will be admitted to hospital with or will die from liver cirrhosis over five years if they are of healthy weight compared with 1 in 1000 women who are obese.

However, among women who reported drinking an average of two and a half drinks a day, 2.7 in 1000 will be admitted to hospital with or will die from liver cirrhosis over five years if they are of healthy weight compared with 5 in 1000 women who are obese.

In the second study, researchers from the Universities of Glasgow and Bristol investigated the joint effects of BMI and alcohol consumption on liver disease in more than 9,000 men in Scotland. Participants were tracked for an average of 29 years.

Both factors were related to liver disease and, more importantly, the combination of high BMI and alcohol consumption was greater than the additive effect of the two separate factors.

Kudos, fatsos.