The impact of binge drinking on mortality and liver disease in the Swiss HIV Cohort Study. Journal of Clinical Medicine
Surial et al. assessed whether binge drinking contributes to all-cause and liver-related mortality and to the occurrence of liver-related events among people living with HIV. Previous reports from the general population showed that individuals who reported binge drinking behaviour had a substantially increased risk of developing liver disease.
Based on the Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test (AUDIT-C) score, time-varying alcohol drinking patterns were categorized into one of four groups: “abstinence”, “non-hazardous drinking”, “hazardous but not binge drinking”, and “binge drinking” (defined as ≥ 6 drinks/occasion at least monthly).
The study included 11’849 individuals with a median follow-up of 6.8 years. Overall, 470 individuals died, of whom 37 experienced a liver-related death, and 239 liver-related events occurred. Compared to individuals who reported non-hazardous drinking, those reporting binge drinking were more likely to die (adjusted incidence rate ratio [aIRR] 1.9, 95% CI 1.3-2.7 for all-cause mortality; aIRR 3.6, CI 0.9-13.9 for liver-related mortality) and to experience a liver-related event (aIRR 3.8, CI 2.4-5.8). Authors did not observe differences in outcomes between participants reporting non-hazardous and hazardous drinking without binge drinking.
In summary, this study shows that binge drinking is associated with an increased mortality and an increased risk for the development of liver disease among people living with HIV. Considering the high proportion of individuals who report harmful alcohol consumption and the high prevalence of liver disease in HIV cohorts, these patients may benefit from tailored risk reduction counselling.