CORRELATION OF ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION WITH LIVER DAMAGE IN MEN AND WOMEN

In Canterbury with the establishment of a service for alcohol-related problems, 161 alcohol abusers were admitted to the Kent and Canterbury Hospital in the five-year perid 1973–1978. This study showed that women consuming less than 100 units of alchohol but more than 70 units per week were more likely to develop hepatitis than men drinking the same amount. No other sex differences in susceptibility to liver damage were observed. Abnormal mean corpuscular volume (MCV) was found to be a better indicator of the presence of liver damage in women (90% with liver damage had abnormal MCV) than men (65% with liver damage had abnormal MCV).