Daily alcohol intake, certain drugs tied to liver abnormalities in PsA patients

Patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA) often suffer from liver abnormalities, which are associated with higher body mass index (BMI), daily consumption of alcohol, more severe disease, and some therapies, according to a recent study.

A total of 1,061 patients were followed in a PsA clinic, of whom 343 had liver abnormalities. After the first visit, 256 patients developed liver abnormalities and were considered as cases, while 718 were identified as controls.

Liver abnormalities had a 32-percent prevalence, and the incidence stood at 39 per 1,000 patient-years where there were 256 cases over 6,533 total person-years in the PsA cohort. Detection of such defects occurred after a mean follow-up duration of 8.3±7.8 years.

Drug-induced hepatitis and fatty liver were the most common causes of liver abnormalities, while the independent factors associated with these defects included higher BMI, daily alcohol intake, higher damaged joint count, elevated C-reactive protein, and use of methotrexate, leflunomide, or tumour necrosis factor inhibitors.

The authors identified PsA patients with either elevated serum transaminase or alkaline phosphatase levels or liver disease after first visit to a PsA clinic from a longitudinal cohort study. They identified controls from the same cohort who never had liver abnormalities or disease.

Cases and controls were matched 1:1 by sex, age, at first clinic visit, and follow-up duration. Univariate logistic and multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to identify variables at the first appearance of liver test abnormality associated with liver conditions.