What Level of Alcohol Intake Is Harmful in Chronic Hepatitis C?
Poynard and coworkers compared liver histology of patients with hepatitis C drinking >50 g per day to that of non-drinkers and found a 34 percent increased rate of progression of fibrosis in heavy drinkers. (1) Associations between fibrosis progression and lesser amounts of alcohol intake were not significant, but the measurement of alcohol intake was assessed in a uniform, standardized manner. The HCV National Register Steering Group in the UK traced 924 patients who had received an anti-HCV-positive unit of blood for an average of >10 years after transfusion and assessed alcohol intake using validated questionnaires. (6) Liver-related deaths were increased among those who drank >20 units per week (approximately 30 g per day) in both patients with hepatitis C and controls. The Dionysos study analyzed hepatitis virus markers, alcohol intake (assessed by questionnaires of daily and lifetime intake), and clinical and iochemical evidence for liver disease among 6,917 unselected residents
