Zeitschrift für metabolisches Syndrom

Alcoholic Liver Disease and Alcohol in Non-Alcoholic Liver Disease: Does it Matter?

Abstract

Lesmana CRA

Alcoholic Liver Disease (ALD) is still a major problem in Western and Asian countries. The long-term impact of ALD might further lead to liver disease complications, such as liver cirrhosis and liver cancer. The safe limit amount of alcohol might be different between Western and Asian countries as the genetic factor might also become an important role in the liver disease progression.

It is well-known that alcohol consumption would have synergistic liver injury effect together with chronic viral hepatitis infection. However, in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), mild to moderate alcohol consumption might have a beneficial effect as it might protect the liver.

Further studies will be needed to confirm the beneficial effect of mild to moderate alcohol consumption for protecting the liver as the liver disease progression in many countries might have different influenced factors, especially in chronic viral hepatitis infection due to different genetic polymorphism and different virus genotype distribution. Obesity, which is now becoming one of the biggest problems in NAFLD patients, it would also give a different prognosis in liver disease progression between Western and Asian countries because of different type of food habits and lifestyle.

Alcohol consumption issue would become the emerging controversies issue in the near future as NAFLD is now becoming an emerging disease despite chronic viral hepatitis infection.