Characteristics of German–Swiss cohort of alcohol misusers
| Total n=1798 | Controls (no liver injury) n=864 (48.1%) | Cases (cirrhosis) n=934 (51.9%) | Significance (p values) | |
| Characteristics | ||||
| Age (years) | 51±11 | 45±10 | 56±10 | <0.0001 |
| Sex (women) | 386 (22) | 118 (14) | 268 (29) | <0.0001 |
| BMI (kg/m2) | 25.6±4.6 | 24.9±4.9 | 26.3±5.0 | <0.0001 |
| Diabetes mellitus (yes/no/NA, % yes) | 209/1199/390 (15) | 13/612/239 (2) | 196/587/151 (25) | <0.0001 |
| Frequency of AAT genotypes | ||||
| Pi*MZ genotype | 75 (4.17) | 17 (1.97) | 58 (6.21) | <0.0001 |
| Pi*ZZ genotype | 4 (0.12) | 0 (0) | 4 (0.43) | 0.073* |
| Pi*MS genotype† | 120 (6.77) | 47 (5.53) | 73 (7.92) | 0.046 |
| Pi*SS genotype† | 3 (0.17) | 1 (0.06) | 2 (0.11) | 0.390* |
| Pi*SZ genotype† | 6 (0.34) | 0 (0) | 6 (0.65) | 0.019* |
Cases were defined as alcohol misusers with cirrhosis whereas controls were defined as alcohol misusers without evidence of significant liver injury. Quantitative measures are shown as mean±SD or as an absolute count (n) and relative frequency (%).
*Fisher’s exact test.
†1772 subjects (98.6% of all subjects) were genotyped for presence of the Pi*S variant.
AAT, alpha1-antitrypsin; BMI, body mass index; NA, not available; Pi*MZ, heterozygous for the Pi*Z variant; Pi*ZZ, homozygous for the Pi*Z variant; Pi*MS, heterozygous for the Pi*S variant; Pi*SS, homozygous for the Pi*S variant; Pi*SZ, compound heterozygous for the Pi*S and the Pi*Z variant.