Roles of alcohol drinking pattern in fatty liver in Japanese women

Purpose Several studies have reported an inverse association between moderate alcohol consumption and prevalence of fatty liver (FL) in men. We aimed to clarify this association in women. Methods We collected health checkup data from 4,921 Japanese women without concurrent liver disease (mean age 46.4 years) and performed a cross-sectional study to evaluate the influence of alcohol drinking patterns (frequency and amount) on the prevalence of FL as assessed by ultrasonography. Results Alcohol consumption was reported in 30.8 % of participants, and FL was observed in 13.8 % (15.5 % nondrinkers, 10.1 % drinkers). Alcohol consumption was inversely associated with FL prevalence [adjusted odds ratio (AOR) 0.79, 95 % confidence interval (CI) 0.63–0.98]. In analyses stratified by drinking frequency and/or amount of alcohol consumed, the risk of FL decreased for the following categories: 0.1–19.9 g/drinking day (AOR 0.61, 95 % CI 0.44–0.83) and 0.1–69.9 g/week (AOR 0.74, 95 % CI 0.55–0.98). The amount of alcohol consumed directly correlated with the prevalence of FL in daily drinkers ( p