Alcohol-related liver disease rising among young Britons

By Dr. Ananya Mandal, MDJan 26 2011

The fact that alcohol damages the liver is well known. What is alarming is the rise in alcohol-related liver disease among young people in Britain.

According to latest National Health Service (NHS) figures the number of people under 30 admitted to hospital in the past decade has risen by more than 50 per cent. 351 people aged 30 and under were admitted to an English hospital with alcohol-related liver disease in 2009/10, up from 230 in 2000/01. That is still only a small fraction of the 14,500 people aged 31 or over who were admitted for alcohol-related liver problems in the last year.

Hepatologist with NHS, Dr Jonathan Mitchell said a widespread culture of binge drinking in Britain is to blame. “The biggest change is that there are so many more patients with advanced liver disease in their 20s and 30s, and previously we just didn’t see young people… But the other more frightening thing is that there are so many more young women than there used to be… This used to be a disease for men, but we’re seeing more and more women and it’s probably around 50-50 with regards to hospital admissions now,” he said.

He added that the actual figures were higher saying that this was because of the way the NHS recorded such statistics. He said, “If you come in with a broken leg and you have an abnormal liver test, it might not be recorded…Everyone who works with alcohol, when we see these statistics we realize they are a gross underestimate.”