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Obesity as a cause of “false‐positive” alcohol misuse laboratory investigations
Author(s) -
Peters T. J.,
Cook C. C. H.
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
addiction biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.445
H-Index - 78
eISSN - 1369-1600
pISSN - 1355-6215
DOI - 10.1080/1355621021000006053
Subject(s) - abstinence , carbohydrate deficient transferrin , fatty liver , toxicity , alcohol , medicine , obesity , liver damage , alcohol dependence , alcohol abuse , liver injury , physiology , endocrinology , psychiatry , alcohol consumption , biology , biochemistry , disease
Three patients are reported with a prior history of alcohol misuse accompanied by abnormal liver toxicity tests and other indices of alcohol misuse. A decreased but persistently raised serum γ ‐glutamyl transferase activity during subsequent abstinence or controlled drinking was interpreted incorrectly as due to continued alcohol misuse whereas obesity‐related fatty liver was the probable cause. The value of serum carbohydrate deficient transferrin assays in the differential diagnosis of abnormal liver toxicity tests is emphasized.