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Effect of abstinence from alcohol on survival of patients with alcoholic cirrhosis: A systematic review and meta‐analysis
Author(s) -
Xie YanDi,
Feng Bo,
Gao Yan,
Wei Lai
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
hepatology research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.123
H-Index - 75
eISSN - 1872-034X
pISSN - 1386-6346
DOI - 10.1111/hepr.12131
Subject(s) - abstinence , hazard ratio , medicine , confidence interval , gastroenterology , survival analysis , meta analysis , survival rate , cohort study , cirrhosis , psychiatry
Aim To address the questions of whether abstinence improves survival of patients with alcoholic cirrhosis ( AC ) and how long it takes for the effect to be significant. Methods A systematic review and a meta‐analysis are performed to assess the effect of abstinence on the survival of patients with AC . Results Seven cohort studies involving 1235 patients with AC were included. No differences were found in 0.5‐year survival (hazard ratio [ HR ] = 0.48, 95% confidence interval [ CI ] = 0.23–1.03, P = 0.06) and 1‐year survival ( HR = 0.58, 95% CI = 0.32–1.03, P = 0.06) between the abstinent and continue drinking groups. However, differences were found in 1.5‐year survival ( HR = 0.51, 95% CI = 0.33–0.81, P = 0.004), 2‐year survival ( HR = 0.55, 95% CI = 0.38–0.78, P = 0.0008), 2.5‐year survival ( HR = 0.54, 95% CI = 0.38–0.77, P = 0.0005), 3‐year survival ( HR = 0.54, 95% CI = 0.40–0.74, P = 0.0001), 3.5‐year survival ( HR = 0.56, 95% CI = 0.44–0.73, P < 0.00001), 4‐year survival ( HR = 0.60, 95% CI = 0.48–0.73, P < 0.00001), 4.5‐year survival ( HR = 0.61, 95% CI = 0.49–0.76, P < 0.0001) and 5‐year survival ( HR = 0.63, 95% CI = 0.52–0.76, P < 0.00001) between the two groups. Conclusion Alcohol abstinence does improve the survival of patients with AC , and it takes at least 1.5 years of alcohol abstinence before a statistically significant difference in survival can be observed between the abstinent and the continue drinking groups.