Liquor intake during pandemic results in liver disease spike: US study

#Research

A recent study published in the 'Hepatology Journal' found that consumption of alcohol during the pandemic could lead to a spike in liver diseases
Through a simulation, the team matched drinking trajectories and liver disease trends among adults in the country
The study found that a one-year increase in alcohol intake during the pandemic could result in an increase of around 8,000 deaths

Written By:Deeksha

Updated: December 26 2021 08:48:36 PM ET New York, NY, USA

A recent US based study published in the ‘Hepatology Journal’ found that consumption of alcohol during the pandemic could lead to a spike in liver diseases. The study, led by researchers at the Massachusetts General Hospital in the US, referred to a US survey on adult drinking habits. During the course of their study, the researchers found out that ‘binge drinking’ habits, which refer to consuming high amounts of alcohol, skyrocketed during the pandemic.

Through a simulation, the team matched drinking trajectories and liver disease trends among adults in the country. The simulated study found that a one-year increase of alcohol consumption during the pandemic could result in an increase of around 8,000 deaths due to alcohol-related liver diseases.

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The study also deduced that more than 18,000 liver failure and 1,000 liver cancer cases could arise by the year 2040.

In the near future, excessive alcohol intake during the pandemic could cause an additional 100 deaths and around 2,800 additional liver failure cases by the year 2023.

The study found that an increase in alcohol consumption for more than a year could lead to an additional mortality surge of 19-35 per cent.

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Jagpreet Chhatwal, associate director of MGH’s Institute for Technology Assessment at Harvard Medical School, concluded that policymakers and individuals must take judicious decisions regarding alcohol consumption.

The lead author of the study, Jovan Julien, also added that the research could help encourage insightful conversations surrounding the repercussions of coping mechanisms for alcohol use, and its impact on behavioural changes in family settings.

Another co-author of the study and a PhD at the Georgia Institute of Technology, Turgay Ayer, added that the pandemic continued to throw up unforeseen circumstances that could have a long-term impact. The study helps in quantifying the consequences of alcohol intake in relation to Covid-19.