World Hepatitis Day: Livelier in Bangalore loses its sheen without good liver

Along with lifestyle ailments like diabetes and  hypertension, liver-related diseases have emerged as one of the most reported ailments in Bangalore. Apart from consumption of alcohol, which is the primary reason for liver cirrhosis, random intake of antibiotics and other drugs often lead to liver dysfunction.

Bangalore is known for its pub culture. Hence, it is no surprise that so many cases of  liver disorders are reported every day in the city. It is not only Bangalore, liver disorders have become rampant in other big cities as well. Every four persons out of 100 suffers from Hepatitis B in the state of Karnataka.

Problems of the liver can lead to Hepatitis A, Hepatitis B as well as Hepatitis C, making liver disorders one of the top killer diseases in the country.

Hepatitis B is one of the deadliest but silent epidemics in the country. World Health Organization (WHO) estimates suggest that the country is home to 25 to 40 million people suffering from Hepatitis B.
Experts say that Bangalore is also seeing a spurt of Hepatitis C cases. There is still no vaccine for Hepatitis C.  People who suffer from it have high chances of getting cancer.

Hence, it is mandatory to get liver check up done on a regular basis. In 90% of cases, people are unaware that they have a liver disease. Diagnosis happens at a very late stage because of lack of awareness.

Sussex alcoholics dying from liver problems as they drink again when leaving hospital

Patients with liver disease are dying because they start drinking again after leaving hospital. Researchers have found people who manage to give up alcohol when they are discharged are almost three times as likely to survive.

The study is one of the first to assess the long-term outcome for inpatients with severe alcoholic hepatitis. Researchers reviewed medical records of patients admitted to the hospital with alcoholic hepatitis over a five year period.

They found more than half, 58%, were dead by the end of the time studied, with 97% of deaths directly down to their liver condition. Only 20% of patients died when they were in hospital the first time. However, two-thirds of the deaths happened after patients were discharge and were directly linked to people continuing to drink. The estimated five-year survival rate was 75% in those who stopped drinking, compared to 24% in those who relapsed.

The overall survival is very poor and this is directly related to the high rate of alcohol relapse after discharge from hospital. This is despite the fact that Brighton has well-developed and comprehensive hospital and community alcohol services.

Alcohol abuse is costing Brighton and Hove taxpayers more than £100 million a year, with around 100 people admitted to hospital every week as a result of alcohol.

Alarming rise in the number of young women in UK dying from heavy alcohol drinking

Researchers in UK claim the number of young women who are dying from alcohol related conditions such as liver disease has seen an alarming increase since 1980s. They warn that in the past decade, while there has been a downward trend in alcohol related deaths among young men, they are increasing among young women. Researchers assessed drink related deaths in three cities - Glasgow, Manchester and Liverpool – and blame cheap alcohol and a shift in the way drink is marketed towards women for the increase in deaths.

 

The trends appeared in these cities appeared to reflect what was happening nationally. While the number of deaths among young men went up in the 1990s and early 2000s but then that started to fall again in the late 2000s. Among women of the same age, however, it keeps going up and they are not decreasing like have seen in other parts of the population. This indicates that young women are drinking a lot more. If this continues it is going to have huge implications as they get older.

 

Cheap alcohol and a binge-drinking "ladette" culture has been blamed for an alarming rise in the number of young women dying from alcohol-related diseases in Glasgow. The increasing number of females who are taking advantage of cheaper alcohol and matching male drinkers in the city's bars and nightclub venues are falling victim to cirrhosis of the liver and other illnesses at an earlier age than in the past, a report out today warns.

Researchers say deaths connected to drinking among females are now increasing at the same rate as that for men, despite a fall in the overall number of such deaths across the UK.

They found women born in the 1970s began dying in notable numbers in the 1990s and 2000s, chiefly from cirrhosis of the liver, but also after suffering mental health issues.

Previously, heart disease and stroke used to explain excess deaths among those under the age of 65 in Glasgow. But since 1993, alcohol, drugs, suicide and violence have taken over where cardiovascular disease left off.

However, a minimum price for alcohol will not be enough to combat Scotland's deep-rooted culture of problem drinking, the study warns. In the last 20 to 30 years there has seen a dramatic rise in the number of alcohol-related deaths in Scotland and Glasgow in particular.

Researchers focused on Glasgow, Liverpool and Manchester to see if there were any factors that might help explain the higher rate of early deaths, which began to rise sharply in 1993, in Scotland.