In the United States, 17,000 Americans are on the waiting list for liver transplant. Most patients suffer from liver disease linked toexcess alcohol.
Because alcohol-related liver disease has exploded in recent years, find researchers at the University of California at San Francisco in the JAMA Internal Medicine.
In their study, the researchers analyzed data on liver transplants from 2002 to 2016. Of nearly 33,000 liver transplant patients, 36.7% of them had liver disease related to excess liver. alcohol in 2016. They were 24.2% in 2002.
While there were 433 transplants for alcohol-related liver disease in 2002, this number almost tripled in 2016 to reach 1,253.
Alcohol-related liver disease, including alcoholic cirrhosis, alcoholic cirrhosis with hepatitis C, and acute alcoholic hepatitis, have become the leading cause of liver transplants in recent years.
Alcoholic liver disease, the # 1 cause of liver transplants
Alcohol has dethroned hepatitis C, which was once the number 1 cause of liver transplants in the country. This could be explained by the fact that hepatitis C is easier to treat with drugs. Another explanation could be the better acceptance of early transplants by patients with liver disease linked to alcohol consumption.
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