title: Alcoholic liver disease. Are there any differences between China and Western countries in clinical features?
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the clinical features of alcoholic liver disease (ALD) in hospitalized Chinese patients, and their differences compared with western countries.
  
  
  METHODS
  Four hundred and eight hospitalized patients with ALD at First Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University College of Medicine, Hangzhou, from January 2008 to December 2010 were studied retrospectively. Clinical data were analyzed and compared with western countries through literature review.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The patients with ALD accounted for 7.8% of all hospitalized patients with liver diseases. These patients comprised 400 men and 8 women, aged between 45 and 55 years. Among the patients, there were 318 patients with alcoholic cirrhosis (77.9%), 48 patients with alcoholic hepatitis (11.8%), 9 patients with fatty liver (2.2%), and 33 patients with mild alcoholic injury (8.1%). The abstinence rate in these patients was 37.7%. Logistic-regression analysis showed that daily intake amount, duration of drinking, drinking hard liquors and smoking were the risk factors for alcoholic cirrhosis, but abstinence was the favorable factor for treatment. Compared with western countries, Chinese patients had a lower constituent ratio of ALD among liver diseases, lower proportions of females, and rate of concomitant hepatitis C infection; but the drinking status, clinical manifestations, and abstinence rate were similar between them.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  There are differences as well as similarities between China and western countries in the clinical features of ALD.
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, the First College of Clinical Medical Science, China Three Gorges University, Yichang, China.
authors.forename: Shi-Hua
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Zheng
authors.forename: You-Ming
authors.initials: YM
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Shao-Hua
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Hai-Xiu
authors.initials: HX
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Guang-Jin
authors.initials: GJ
authors.lastname: Yuan
mesh_terms: D002681:China; D005060:Europe; D006801:Humans; D008108:Liver Diseases, Alcoholic / Q000503:physiopathology*; D012189:Retrospective Studies