Rapid increase in deaths due to alcohol-related liver disease
A new study identifies a worrying trend: deaths due to cirrhosis, or liver disease, as a result of alcohol consumption are on the rise across the United States.
Research led by the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor has made a disturbing find about deaths related to cirrhosis, a severe liver condition.
Cirrhosis can be caused by several different health issues, including hepatitis C and fatty liver disease.
But the researchers observed that in the United States, an increasing number of people acquire it due to excessive alcohol consumption.
Dr. Elliot Tapper — who is a specialist in liver health from Michigan Medicine, of the University of Michigan — and his collaborator Dr. Neehar Parikh have noticed that, in 1999–2016, the number of deaths caused by cirrhosis has been on the rise in 49 out of 50 states.
"Each alcohol-related death," explains Dr. Tapper, "means decades of lost life, broken families, and lost economic productivity. In addition, medical care of those dying from cirrhosis costs billions of dollars."
