Overweight as a risk factor or a predictive sign of histological liver damage in alcoholics

This study analyzes whether increased body weight is related to histological liver damage in chronic alcoholic patients. Data from 152 recently abstinent alcoholics without evidences of liver failure were analyzed. Liver biopsies were scored for the presence of fat, necrosis, fibrosis, inflammation, and Mallory material. Total histological score correlated significantly with body weight (BW), length of alcoholism (L), and age (A) but not with the amount of ethanol ingested (E). Forward stepwise multiple regression analysis with histological score as the dependent variable gave significant F values for BW and L but not for A. Patients with severe damage had higher BW than patients with mild damage. The group with BW greater than 110% showed a higher histological score. These results confirm the association between increased BW and liver damage in asymptomatic alcoholic patients suggesting that overweight is a risk factor for alcoholic liver disease.