title: Roles of gender, obesity, and lifestyle-related diseases in alcoholic liver disease: Obesity does not influence the severity of alcoholic liver disease.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To elucidate gender differences and the influence of obesity and/or metabolic syndrome-related fatty liver on alcoholic liver disease (ALD), we analyzed characteristic features of ALD.
  
  
  METHODS
  We investigated 266 ALD patients (224 males and 42 females) without hepatocellular carcinoma stratified by gender and the presence of cirrhosis. Male and female patients matched for age and total ethanol intake were also analyzed. A diagnosis of ALD was based on alcohol intake (>70 g daily for more than 5 years), clinical features, and exclusion of other liver diseases. The prevalence of obesity, lifestyle-related diseases, and psychological disorders were assessed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The prevalence of psychological disorders showed a significant gender difference among all ALD patients (12% in males versus 43% in females, P < 0.001), as well as in patients matched for age and total ethanol intake. There were 156 cirrhotic patients. Absence of dyslipidemia, presence of diabetes, and high total ethanol intake were selected as independent predictors of cirrhosis in males by multivariate analysis after excluding laboratory data of liver function tests. The prevalence of obesity was significantly lower in cirrhotic male patients than in non-cirrhotic male patients (34% vs. 20%, P = 0.023). Among females, there were no significant predictors of cirrhosis on multivariate analysis after eliminating liver function tests. The prevalence of obesity and diabetes was similar in non-cirrhotic and cirrhotic female patients. The prevalence of psychological disorders was 47% in cirrhotic females with ALD.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Obesity was not common in cirrhotic ALD. Psychological disorders seem to be important for female ALD.
authors.affiliation: Tokyo Women's Medical University, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Makiko
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Taniai
authors.forename: Etsuko
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Hashimoto
authors.forename: Katsutoshi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Tokushige
authors.forename: Kazuhisa
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kodama
authors.forename: Tomomi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kogiso
authors.forename: Nobuyuki
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Torii
authors.forename: Keiko
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Shiratori