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Risk factors
By Mayo Clinic staffEach underlying problem that can lead to enlarged liver has a distinct set of risk factors. For example:
- Alcohol abuse. Men are more likely to abuse alcohol than women are. The risk of alcoholism is higher if you have a family history of the disease. Depression and anxiety also increase the risk of alcohol abuse.
- Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. Being overweight or obese is a major risk factor for nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. Having diabetes or abnormal cholesterol levels also increases the risk.
- Hepatitis A. You're at increased risk of hepatitis A if you travel to or work in regions with high rates of hepatitis A. You're also at risk if you're a sexually active gay or bisexual man, you use illicit drugs, you work in a research setting where you may be exposed to the virus or you have hemophilia or receive clotting-factor concentrates for another medical condition.
- Hepatitis B. You're at increased risk of hepatitis B if you have unprotected sex with more than one partner, you have a sexually transmitted disease, or you share needles during intravenous drug use. You're also at risk if you live with someone who has a chronic hepatitis B infection, you have a job that exposes you to human blood or you received a blood transfusion or blood products before 1970.
- Hepatitis C. You're at increased risk of hepatitis C if you inject or snort illicit drugs, you received an organ transplant before 1992, you've been exposed to infected blood or you received clotting factor concentrates before 1987. You're also at risk if you have hemophilia and received blood products before 1992 or you're receiving hemodialysis for kidney failure.
- Heart failure. Various factors increase the risk of heart failure, including high blood pressure, coronary artery disease, diabetes, kidney failure and congenital heart defects.
- Liver cancer. Chronic infection with hepatitis B or C is the most important risk factor for liver cancer. Cirrhosis — an irreversible scarring of the liver — diabetes, smoking and excessive alcohol consumption may increase risk as well.
