A growing number of Americans are dying from liver disease and the age range is lower than you may think. The surprising correlation between the increased mortality rate and decrease in age range has sparked concern and interest for researchers.
The age at which people are developing liver disease is declining with the greatest increase in people dying of alcoholic cirrhosis and liver cancer since 2009 is among young people aged 25-34. That’s the findings of a new study published in the July 2018 British Medical Journal. (published site)
Researchers Elliott Tapper and Neehar Parikh at the University of Michigan and the VA Healthcare System in Ann Arbor, Michigan analyzed Centers for Disease Control and Prevention statistics for liver disease-related deaths between 1999 and 2016.
Their analysis showed that overall annual deaths from cirrhosis increased by 65 percent to 34,174 during the study period and the number of deaths from liver cancer doubled to 11,073. During 2009-16 people aged 25-34 years experienced the highest average annual increase in cirrhosis related death due entirely to alcohol-related liver disease.
Their analysis showed that overall annual deaths from cirrhosis increased by 65 percent to 34,174 during the study period and the number of deaths from liver cancer doubled to 11,073. During 2009-16 people aged 25-34 years experienced the highest average annual increase in cirrhosis related death due entirely to alcohol-related liver disease.
In the same week the National Center for Health Statistics reported that Liver cancer death rates for adults aged 25 and over increased 43 percent between 2000 and 2016.
In an editorial in the same journal by Craig McClain and Dr. Luis Marsano of the University of Louisville noted that while 25-34 year-olds experienced the biggest increase in cirrhosis deaths, the number of these deaths is very small. In addition they point out that the greatest increases in such deaths have occurred in states where obesity and childhood obesity has rapidly increased.
Regardless of the actual numbers of deaths, the study shows that preventable serious illnesses and deaths from liver disease in this age group are rising. Both the researchers and the editorial writers say providers need to be more aware of the rising numbers of people with liver disease.
The American College of Gastroenterology (ACG) updated its guidelines for liver testing in Dec. 2016. First author Paul Kwo, MD, from Stanford University Medical School in California, told Medscape Medical News that diagnostic testing should move away from liver function tests to liver chemistry tests.
"We are now recognizing that liver tests are an important window into somebody's overall health. As we enter an era when we have good therapies for some liver diseases and we're rapidly exploring options for other chronic liver diseases, it's important to be able to identify these people," Dr Kwo concluded.
LiverFASt is a non-invasive liver disease screen for early detection of fatty liver, non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) and fibrosis. For more information contact us via email or by phone at 1-888-552-1603.
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