title: Influence of light alcohol consumption on lifestyle-related diseases: a predictor of fatty liver with liver enzyme elevation in Japanese females with metabolic syndrome.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Although heavy drinking is known to lead to liver injury, some recent studies have reported that light alcohol consumption (LAC) may play a protective role against fatty liver in the general population, and may even play a protective role against non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in males with metabolic syndrome (MS). However, the association between LAC and fatty liver with liver enzyme elevation in females with MS is unclear.
  
  
  METHODS
  Participants of this study were 20,853 females who underwent a regular health check-up between April 2008 and March 2012 at our hospital. Enrolled subjects were 1141 females with MS, who underwent all necessary tests and drank less than 20 g/day of alcohol. We investigated the presence of fatty liver with liver enzyme elevation, defined in this study as alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels ≧31 IU/I, and the association between LAC and fatty liver with ALT elevation.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There was no significant difference in the prevalence of fatty liver and ALT between light drinkers and non-drinkers. The prevalence of individuals receiving a treatment for dyslipidemia and impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) was significantly lower in light drinkers than in non-drinkers. Body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), triglyceride (TG), uric acid (UA), IGT, and visceral fat type MS (V-type MS) were significant predictors of the prevalence of fatty liver with ALT elevation in logistic regression analysis. The odds ratio [OR] (95 % confidence interval [CI], p value) for fatty liver with ALT elevation were as follows: BMI, 2.181 (1.445-3.293, p <0.001); WC, 1.853 (1.280-2.684, p <0.01); DBP, 1.604 (1.120-2.298, p <0.05); TG, 2.202 (1.562-3.105, p <0.001); UA, 2.959 (1.537-5.698, p <0.01); IGT, 1.692 (1.143-2.506, p <0.01); and V-type MS, 3.708 (2.529-5.437, p <0.001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  There was no significant difference in the prevalence of fatty liver with ALT elevation in females with MS between light drinkers and non-drinkers, suggesting that other factors such as BMI, WC, V-type MS, and lifestyle-related disease may be more important than LAC for the prevalence of fatty liver with ALT elevation.
authors.affiliation: Department of General Medicine and Community Health Science, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, Tokushima University Graduate School, 3-18-15 Kuramoto-cho, Tokushima City, Tokushima, 770-8503, Japan. tokushimakenananshi@yahoo.co.jp.|Department of Gastroenterology and Oncology, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, Tokushima University Graduate School, Tokushima, Japan. tokushimakenananshi@yahoo.co.jp.|Department of Gastroenterology, Kagawa Prefectural Cancer Detection Center, Takamatsu, Japan. tokushimakenananshi@yahoo.co.jp.
authors.forename: Masahiro
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sogabe
authors.affiliation: Department of General Medicine and Community Health Science, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, Tokushima University Graduate School, 3-18-15 Kuramoto-cho, Tokushima City, Tokushima, 770-8503, Japan. okahisa5505@tokushima-u.ac.jp.|Department of Gastroenterology and Oncology, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, Tokushima University Graduate School, Tokushima, Japan. okahisa5505@tokushima-u.ac.jp.
authors.forename: Toshiya
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Okahisa
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology and Oncology, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, Tokushima University Graduate School, Tokushima, Japan. t-nakagawa@tokushima-u.ac.jp.
authors.forename: Tadahiko
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Nakagawa
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Higashi Tokushima Medical Center, Tokushima, Japan. ten@kb3.so-net.ne.jp.
authors.forename: Hiroshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Fukuno
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Tsurugi Municipal Handa Hospital, Tokushima, Japan. nakasono@mb.clin.med.tokushima-u.ac.jp.
authors.forename: Masahiko
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nakasono
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology and Oncology, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, Tokushima University Graduate School, Tokushima, Japan. tomonari.tetsu@tokushima-u.ac.jp.
authors.forename: Tetsu
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Tomonari
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology and Oncology, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, Tokushima University Graduate School, Tokushima, Japan. takahiro_tanaka2002@yahoo.co.jp.
authors.forename: Takahiro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Tanaka
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology and Oncology, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, Tokushima University Graduate School, Tokushima, Japan. hironori.t.0730@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Hironori
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Tanaka
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology and Oncology, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, Tokushima University Graduate School, Tokushima, Japan. t-taniguchi@tokushima-u.ac.jp.
authors.forename: Tatsuya
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Taniguchi
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology and Oncology, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, Tokushima University Graduate School, Tokushima, Japan. muguruma.naoki@tokushima-u.ac.jp.
authors.forename: Naoki
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Muguruma
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology and Oncology, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, Tokushima University Graduate School, Tokushima, Japan. takayama@tokushima-u.ac.jp.
authors.forename: Tetsuji
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Takayama
mesh_terms: D000410:Alanine Transaminase / Q000097:blood*; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000097:blood; D001786:Blood Glucose / Q000378:metabolism; D001794:Blood Pressure; D015992:Body Mass Index; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D050152:Intra-Abdominal Fat / Q000378:metabolism; D007564:Japan / Q000453:epidemiology; D008019:Life Style; D008099:Liver / Q000201:enzymology; D024821:Metabolic Syndrome / Q000097:blood / Q000150:complications* / Q000503:physiopathology; D008875:Middle Aged; D065626:Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease / Q000097:blood / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology*; D016017:Odds Ratio; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D014280:Triglycerides / Q000097:blood; D014527:Uric Acid / Q000097:blood; D055105:Waist Circumference
chemical_list: D001786:Blood Glucose; D014280:Triglycerides; D014527:Uric Acid; D000410:Alanine Transaminase