Liquor-linked liver deaths rising in women, young adults: Study

Alcohol-related liver disease deaths are increasing rapidly among women and young adults, according to new research.

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Researchers from the Universities Havard, Stanford, and Southern California (USC) attributed the rise to higher drinking during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as to increasing health problems like obesity and high blood pressure.

"The pandemic itself came under control, but the disparities that came with it continued and lingered," said Dr Nasim Maleki, a psychiatry professor at Harvard Medical School.

The findings, published in JAMA Network Open, based on death certificates from across the US showed that between 2018 and 2022, deaths from alcohol-associated liver disease (ALD) rose nearly 9 per cent a year.

Between 2006 and 2018, ALD deaths stood at 3.5 per cent per year.

While men still had the highest number of deaths — 17 per 100,000 people — women's death rates grew faster.

In 2022, eight of every 100,000 women died from ALD, up from three per 100,000 over the study period. Women's death rates rose by about 4.3 percent each year, nearly twice the rate of men.

One reason women may be affected more is because of how the body processes alcohol.

Biologically, women are less able to break down alcohol than men.

That means even a little drinking can have a bigger impact on their organs over time, the researchers explained.