Alcohol-related liver disease on the rise

According to a new study,  there are severe alcohol-related liver disease on the rise, which experts say may be due to heavy binge drinking, especially
in young adults.
According to the study published in JAMA, researchers found that while there has been little change in the rate of people developing alcoholic fatty liver disease, there appears to be an increase in those who are at greater risk of cirrhosis, liver cancer and death.

 The study’s lead author, Dr. Robert Wong, an assistant clinical professor of medicine and director of research and education at the Alameda Health System-Highland Hospital was quoted saying:
“I think what triggered me to do this study was seeing a lot of patients with advanced alcoholic fatty liver disease.
“The most concerning finding was that the number of patients with more advanced disease, which increases the risk of dying, increased significantly over the time period we studied.” 
It should be noted that alcoholic liver disease is one of the leading causes of death in the United States, as nearly 250,000 deaths were attributed to the disease in 2010.
A 2016 study showed that it’s become the number one reason for liver transplants in the U.S.”

The quantity of alcohol alcohol that at was considered enough to cause liver damage according to the study was two or more drinks per day for women and three or more drinks per day for men.
Dr. Elliot Tapper, a liver disease specialist and assistant professor at the University of Michigan who was also the lead author of a former study that found increasing numbers of young people dying because of alcohol-related liver disease said:  “it’s clear that there are many more sick livers out there due to alcohol,”
“If you were to come with me on my rounds in the hospital you’d see that in every other room there is a 28-year-old or a 30-year-old with severe liver disease,” Tapper said.
The rising rate of binge drinking is considered  the number one reason for the increase of liver disease in young people.

“There have been studies in the last few years that suggest that amongst millennials about 40 percent will report binge drinking in the past month,” Tapper said. “That means it’s basically become a part of the culture for the American millennial. There’s no historical precedent for that.”
Tapper said he believes that consuming seven to 14 drinks in a binge is far worse for the liver than drinking one to two drinks per day.

Dr. Sammy Saab, a professor of medicine and surgery and head of outcomes research in hepatology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles said one issue the new study didn’t raise was the increasing rates of liver disease in women
“What we are seeing now is an explosion of young women with liver disease,” Saab said. “Young women are dying in their 30s and 40s.”

Saab said he was happy that, the new study “does bring more attention to a very serious problem that’s been ignored for many years.”

Comments