Search

Objective To investigate the epidemiology and clinical characteristics of autoimmune hepatitis (AIH). Methods Hospitalization data of 62 consenting patients with autoimmune hepatitis admitted to the First Affiliated Hospital of Ji'nan University from November 2002 to March 2014 were collected. Clinical characteristics, epidemiology, serum IgG or γ-globulin levels, liver function indices, and liver fibrosis indices in these patients were analyzed. Results ①62 patients participated in this research, including 9 males and 53 females. The male-female ratio of AIH patients was 1:5.89. The patients, age ranged from 15 to 79 years (median age 56 years), and middle aged patients accounted for 40.3% (25 patients). Fatigue (61.3%), hepatomegaly (54.8%) and loss of appetite (53.2%) were the most common clinical symptoms. Type ⅠAIH accounted for 77.42%, type Ⅱfor 3.23%, type Ⅲfor 3.23% and type Ⅳfor 16.13%. ②Different types of AIH patients showed no statistically significant difference in the gender, age, clinical manifestations and incidence of complications, serum IgG or γ-globulin levels and liver function. ③Due to the limited size of type Ⅱ, type Ⅲand type ⅣAIH patients, only type ⅠAIH patients were enrolled in a further analysis. In type ⅠAIH patients, the incidences of abdominal distension, palmar erythema, spider nevi, edema of lower extremities, upper gastrointestinal hemorrhage and spontaneous peritonitis were higher in males. Females had a higher concentration of gamma glutamyl transpeptidase (GGT) and alkaline phosphatase (ALP), and a lower concentration of hyaluronic acid and laminin. Type ⅠAIH patients in all age groups showed no statistical ly significant difference in clinical manifestations and incidence of complications, serum IgG or γ-globulin levels and liver function. Conclusions AIH predominantly affects middle-aged women. Fatigue, hepatomegaly and reduction of appetite are the most common clinical symptoms. Type Ⅰis the most common type among the three types. Females has a higher concentration of GGT and ALP and a lower concentration of hyaluronic acid and laminin. DOI: 10.11855/j.issn.0577-7402.2016.08.13

Objective To evaluate the association between modest alcohol consumption and the risk of fatty liver disease (FLD) or nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Methods PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, the Cochrane Library, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Wanfang Digital Journal Full-text Database, and database for Chinese Technical Periodicals (VIP) till Nov. 2015 were searched for the studies in evaluating the effect of alcohol consumption on FLD or NAFLD. The quality assessment of included studies was performed according to the combined evaluation for cross-sectional studies and Newcastle-Ottawa scale (NOS) for cohort studies. A meta-analysis was performed using Stata12.0 software. Results A total of 16 studies including 13 cross-sectional studies, 2 cross-sectional following longitudinal studies, and 1 cohort study with 76 967 participants were selected finally. The results of Meta-analysis were as follows. Minimal and light alcohol consumptions reduced the risk for FLD or NAFLD by 17% and 27%, respectively, and moderate alcohol consumption was marginally associated with decreased risk for FLD or NAFLD. The results of subgroup analysis by gender showed that (1) Minimal and light alcohol consumptions reduced the risk of FLD or NAFLD by 29% and 33%, respectively, but moderate alcohol consumption was not statistically significant in reducing the risk of FLD or NAFLD in females compared with controls; (2) Light alcohol consumption reduced the risk of FLD or NAFLD by 23%, but minimal and moderate alcohol consumptions were not statistically significant in reducing the risk of FLD or NAFLD in male compared with controls; (3) Light and moderate alcohol consumptions in Asian males reduced the risk of FLD or NAFLD by 29.7% and 30.3%, respectively. Conclusions Modest alcohol consumptions may not increase the risk of FLD or NAFLD. Inversely, minimal and light alcohol consumptions in female reduce the risk of FLD or NAFLD remarkably, and light to moderate alcohol consumption in males, especially in Asian males, can also significantly reduce the risk of FLD or NAFLD. DOI: 10.11855/j.issn.0577-7402.2016.07.15