Background Schistosomiasis and alcohol use are major, co-occurring risk factors for liver disease in low and middle-income countries. However, their interactions and shared disease outcomes remain poorly understood. Methods We conducted a scoping review to understand how schistosome infection and alcohol use influence author-defined health outcomes. A systematic search was carried out on 3 March 2025 using the following databases: PubMed (1946 – present), Embase (1974 – present), Web of Science (1964 – present), Global Index Medicus (1901 – present), and Global Health (1973 – present). Quality of studies was assessed descriptively by assessing bias and confounding. Results The search yielded 2358 articles, with 21 studies eligible for synthesis. Most studies (76.2%, 16/21) focused on current S. mansoni infection, and the same proportion treated alcohol use as a binary variable. The most frequently reported clinical outcomes were periportal fibrosis (42.9%, 9/21), and biomarkers (19%, 4/21), including serum iron markers. For hepatic outcomes, both synergistic and antagonistic pathways are plausible, while for iron-related outcomes, an antagonistic relationship was supported. Cross-sectional studies were most common (66.7%, 14/21), limiting the ability to make assessments on the temporal relationships between exposures and clinical outcomes. Selection bias was the most frequently reported source of bias (28.6%, 6/21), and only four (19%) studies reported both adjusted and unadjusted analyses, allowing for an assessment of confounding. Conclusions Co-occurring schistosomiasis and alcohol use has been associated with more severe liver pathology, presenting a significant public health concern in endemic areas. Current literature focuses on schistosome-related pathology, where alcohol use acts as a modifying factor. Future research should prioritise longitudinal designs with standardised definitions of alcohol use to better understand interactions between these two exposures for liver outcomes.
Journal article
Public Library of Science (PLoS)
2026-05-27T00:00:00+00:00
20
e0014371 - e0014371