Alcohol-related liver deaths have risen sharply | Health



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Deaths from liver disease have risen sharply in recent years in the United States, according to a study published in the British Medical Journal. Cirrhosis-related deaths increased by 65% ​​between 1999 and 2016, and deaths from liver cancer doubled, according to the study. The rise in death rates is mainly due to diseases caused by alcohol, the report says.

In the last decade, people aged 25 to 34 years have had the largest increase in cirrhosis deaths – an average of 10.5% per year.

The study suggests that a new generation of Americans is suffering from "misuse of alcohol and its complications," said lead author Elliot Tapper, liver specialist at the University of Michigan

. people are exposed to life-threatening cirrhosis if they drink several drinks a night or if they have several nights of drinking – more than four or five drinks per session – a week. Women tend to be less tolerant of alcohol and their liver is more susceptible to damage.

The liver cleans the blood when it comes out of the intestine. The more toxins, sugars and fats consumed, the more difficult it is to work. If the liver is overloaded, its plumbing can become blocked, causing scars that can reduce liver function.

"Dying cirrhosis, you never want it to anyone," said Tapper

. Stop drinking, "there is an excellent chance your liver will repair itself," said Tapper. "Many other organs have the capacity to regenerate to some extent, but none has the same capacity as the liver," he added. He said that he regularly saw patients "going from the sickest to living well, working and enjoying their lives".

The problem, said Tapper, is that "we do not yet have a very effective treatment against alcoholism. "

The study examined mortality rates in several demographic groups – divided by age, race, place of residence and bad – using death certificate data and data. The researchers found that the deaths of certain groups of people decreased between 1999 and 2008, but increased sharply from 2009. They badumed that the economic crisis of 2008 and the subsequent rise in unemployment may have played a role Studies have shown that loss of employment is badociated with increased alcohol consumption in men.

The new study showed that men were twice as likely to die from cirrhosis and nearly four times more likely to die of liver cancer than women.The study also found that whites, Native Americans and Hispanic Americans experience mortality rates acc rus for cirrhosis, as well as people living in Kentucky, Arkansas and New Mexico. The only positive report from the study is the decreasing rate of death among Americans of Asian descent from both cirrhosis and liver cancer.

"The scar tissue is silent, silently developing, and the patients do not know it.It's a big surprise," said Jessica Mellinger, a clinical lecturer at the University of Michigan who said: Was not involved in the study.Patients usually present the symptoms "suddenly," said Mellinger of patients with cirrhosis.

The initial symptoms of cirrhosis of yellowing of the skin, the Jaundice and a swollen abdomen are usually the first signs of a problem.The fluid in the abdomen can make it look and feel like you have multiple bowling balls in your stomach, said Tapper As the disease progresses, symptoms worsen, including degenerative brain damage, severe bleeding, kidney failure, and increasing fragility.

The BMJ report is consistent with data released earlier in the week by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In a new report, the agency's National Center for Health Statistics reported that age-adjusted mortality rates for liver cancer were steadily increasing from 2000 to 2016 for both men and women. the women. The body said that liver cancer had reached the sixth leading cause of cancer deaths in 2016, up from the ninth cause in 2000.

The increase in liver cancer occurs while Overall Rates of Cancer Deaths in the United States Continue The CDC report found that among the 50 states and the District of Columbia, the District had the highest liver cancer mortality rate in the country, followed by Louisiana, Hawaii, Mississippi and New York. Mexico. The five states with the lowest mortality rates were Vermont, Maine, Montana, Utah and Nebraska.

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