FRIDAY, April 3, 2026 (HealthDay News) -- Episodic heavy drinking is prevalent in metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) and is associated with significantly higher odds of advanced liver fibrosis, according to a study published online April 2 in Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology.
Using data from the 2017 to 2023 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, Yinan Su, from the University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine in Los Angeles, and colleagues examined adults with vibration-controlled transient elastography data to assess episodic heavy drinking among steatotic liver disease (SLD) subcategories and its association with liver fibrosis.
Overall, 4,571 of the 8,006 individuals had SLD: 3,969; 373; and 144 had MASLD, MASLD with increased alcohol (MetALD), and alcohol-associated liver disease (ALD), respectively. The researchers found that 15.9 percent of those with MASLD had episodic heavy drinking, which was associated with significant and advanced liver fibrosis (adjusted odds ratios, 1.69 and 2.76, respectively). The adjusted weighted prevalence of significant liver fibrosis was higher among MASLD with versus without episodic heavy drinking (23.6 versus 15.6 percent). The weighted prevalence of MASLD was decreased (48.0 to 40.4 percent), while the weighted prevalence of MetALD was increased (5.3 to 12.9 percent) and ALD was similar (1.9 to 2.1 percent), with subgroup prevalence using consensus nomenclature versus including episodic heavy drinking as MetALD or ALD.
"Our research suggests that the public needs to be much more aware of the danger of occasional heavy drinking and should avoid it even if they drink moderately the rest of the time," principal author Brian P. Lee, M.D., also from the Keck School of Medicine, said in a statement.