How alcohol-associated liver disease differs among races

Researchers have long known that outcomes for alcohol-associated liver disease (ALD) aren’t equal among all races and ethnicities in the U.S., but differences among these groups have been less clear.

To investigate, researchers from the U.S., Spain, and Chile, including Thomas Cotter, M.D., Assistant Professor of Internal Medicine in the Division of Digestive and Liver Diseases at UT Southwestern Medical Center, searched three nationally representative databases covering 2011 to 2018 for racial and ethnic disparities in the natural history of ALD.

Their findings, published in Liver International, showed that Hispanic and Asian people had a higher rate of ALD at younger ages compared with non-Hispanic white individuals, despite lower overall alcohol consumption.

Black people had comparatively lower rates of ALD and a reduced risk of death during hospitalization due to ALD. Hispanic and female Asian individuals had the lowest probability of liver transplantation if wait-listed.

Future research should focus on determining the reasons for these differences, Dr. Cotter and his colleagues reported.

More information:
Gustavo Ayares et al, Racial and ethnic disparities in the natural history of alcohol‐associated liver disease in the United States, Liver International (2024). DOI: 10.1111/liv.16023