Doctors report ‘alarming’ increase in number of young people with liver disease as Americans drink more alcohol

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• Experts say unemployment and loneliness linked to the pandemic could lead to alcohol use.
• Rates of alcohol-related liver disease have increased with increasing sales and consumption of alcohol.
• Over time, liver disease from alcohol can lead to cirrhosis, which can be fatal.
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In the 11 months since the start of the pandemic, rates of alcohol consumption and alcohol sales have continued to increase.

Doctors warned it was a concern, and some say we are already seeing the consequences, with alcoholic liver disease increasingly affecting people under 40.

Although the trend “has been alarming for years,” Dr. Raymond Chung, a hepatologist at Harvard University, Eli Cahan of the Los Angeles Times and California Healthline told Eli Cahan, the pandemic has exacerbated the problem. “What we are seeing now is truly dramatic.”

According to the Los Angeles Times, Dr. Haripriya Maddur, a hepatologist at Northwestern Medicine, also treats young people with health problems related to alcohol-related liver disease.

Read more: 6 dangerous things that can happen to your body when you drink too much

Maddur said young people face unique challenges, such as trying to start a family or finding a job in a tough economy.

“They have mouths to feed and bills to pay, but no jobs,” she told the Los Angeles Times, “so they turn to alcohol as the last remaining coping mechanism.”

The harmful effects of alcohol abuse

Binge drinking and binge drinking are both considered binge drinking, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Binge drinking is defined as five or more drinks for men in a night, or 15 or more drinks during the week. For women, that’s four or more drinks on one occasion, or eight or more drinks in a week.

The short-term health effects of alcohol abuse potentially include alcohol poisoning or miscarriage in pregnant women. But if you continue to drink excessively over time, it can lead to high blood pressure, mental health issues, or alcoholism.

If excessive alcohol consumption continues over the years, it can lead to fatty liver disease, inflammation of the liver, or cirrhosis, which is scarring of the liver. Once the cirrhosis progresses, it is harder for your liver to function, which can be fatal, according to the Mayo Clinic.

Some experts fear alcohol abuse will continue long after the pandemic is over

Alcohol sales have increased during the pandemic. Alcohol consumption increased 14% in spring 2020, compared to the same period in 2019, according to a study.

Another study by researchers at the RAND Company found that alcohol consumption increased by almost 30% more during the pandemic, compared to a few months earlier.

Experts fear we are only seeing the start of alarming levels of alcohol consumption and fear the pandemic will have long-term consequences.

“I think we’re only about to do it,” Maddur told the Los Angeles Times. “Midlife is one thing, but the downturn in the economy isn’t going away anytime soon.”