The relationship between alcohol consumption and chronic kidney disease in patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease

Abstract

Objective: To examine the impact of moderate alcohol consumption on the progression of chronic kidney disease (CKD) in individuals diagnosed with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), as NAFLD has been identified as an autonomous risk factor for CKD and previous research has demonstrated a reduction in overall mortality in NAFLD patients who consume alcohol in moderation.

Methods: This study included participants from ten consecutive rounds of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES:1998–2018). Multivariate logistic regression models were employed to assess the impact of moderate alcohol consumption on chronic kidney disease (CKD) in both male and female populations. Subgroup analysis was conducted by categorizing patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) based on the Fibrosis-4 (FIB-4) index.

Results: 17040 participants were eligible to be included in the study. The logistic regression analysis model showed that moderate alcohol consumption was a protective factor for CKD in male NAFLD patients, with an unadjusted OR: 0.37 (0.22,0.65), and p < 0.001. After further adjustment, the association persisted. However, the association was not significant in female patients with NAFLD. Among men with low risk of liver fibrosis group, moderate alcohol consumption remained a protective factor for CKD (OR = 0.32, 95% CI 0.12–0.84, p = 0.02), but the association was not significant in the high risk of liver fibrosis group. In female patients, both moderate alcohol consumption and excessive alcohol consumption were not significantly associated with CKD in either the low-risk group or the high-risk group.

Conclusion: Moderate alcohol consumption is associated with a lower prevalence of CKD in men with NAFLD.

Keywords:

• Alcohol consumption
• non-alcoholic fatty liver disease
• chronic kidney disease

Acknowledgements

We thank all those who participated in the study.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This study was supported by the Nature Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 81873513, 81600574, and 30871042), the Key Projects of Shaanxi Science and Technology Research and Development Plan (Grant No. 2018ZDXM-SF-049), the Key Project of Clinical Research in the First Affiliated Hospital of Xi’an Jiaotong University (Grant No. XJTU1AF-CRF-2018- 005), and the Shaanxi Science and Technology Research and Development Plan of International Science and Technology (Grant Nos. 2012 kw-40-01 and 2014 JM2-8145).