Does Alcohol Use Increase Hepatitis C Virus Replication?
Among patients with hepatitis C, those who drink heavily have more severe liver disease than those who abstain. However, the mechanism by which alcohol use worsens liver disease among these patients is not known. To examine one possible mechanism, researchers performed a meta-analysis of studies that assessed the cross-sectional association between alcohol use and hepatitis C virus replication. • Three of 9 studies showed significantly higher hepatitis C viral levels in heavy drinkers (defined variably) than in nondrinkers. However, when data from all 9 studies were combined, this difference was no longer significant. • Hepatitis C viral levels did not increase as alcohol use increased, according to combined data from 4 studies that examined nondrinkers, moderate drinkers, and heavy drinkers.
