Organomegaly in chronic alcoholics.

We compared the weights of the brain, heart, spleen, lungs, liver, and kidneys, uncorrected and corrected for body surface area (BSA) and body mass index (BMI), of 50 alcoholics with 50 forensic controls matched for sex, age, and body weight. With the exception of combined renal weight corrected for BSA and BMI, no significant differences were found in organ weights between the two groups. Glomerular diameter corrected for BSA was significantly greater in alcoholics than controls. It appears that nephromegaly and glomerulomegaly are both population markers for alcoholism. In alcoholics, there was no correlation between the microscopic degree of steatosis and glomerulomegaly. In controls, renal glomerular diameter was greater with increasing severity of hepatic steatosis, probably as a reflection of obesity.