Drinkers of 15 or more units per week in any BMI category and obese drinkers had raised relative rates for all definitions of liver disease, compared with underweight/normal weight non-drinkers.The relative excess risk due to interaction between BMI and alcohol consumption was 5.58.
Raised BMI and alcohol consumption are both related to liver disease, with evidence of a supra-additive interaction between the two.
The occurrence of both factors in the same populations should inform health promotion and public health policies.
References:
Effect of body mass index and alcohol consumption on liver disease: analysis of data from two prospective cohort studies. BMJ 2010;340:c1240.
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