Alcohol Use Disorder
Treatment of alcohol use disorder at discharge reduces risk for hospital return
The initiation of medications for alcohol use disorder, or AUD, at discharge reduced the incidence of several outcomes like hospital readmissions and ED visits, a study showed.
Q&A: Surge in ‘sober curious’ movement could yield lasting health benefits
While the CDC estimated that excessive alcohol use contributed to approximately 178,000 U.S. deaths each year from 2020 to 2021, an emerging lifestyle trend may help counter those statistics in the years ahead.
Annual deaths from excessive alcohol use increased by nearly 30% from 2016 to 2021
The average number of deaths from excessive alcohol use increased by 29.3% from 2016 to 2021, with an age-standardized rise in death rate from 38.1 to 47.6 per 100,000 population, according to data in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
Nearly 90% of liver transplant center websites still use alcohol-stigmatizing language
A “vast majority” of liver transplant centers use stigmatizing language, such as “alcoholic” or “alcohol abuse,” when describing patients with alcohol use disorder and alcohol-associated liver disease on their websites, researchers reported.
Suicide risk highest within 1 week of hospital discharge among people with depression
Patients hospitalized for depression appeared at greatest risk for suicide within the first week after discharge, according to a study conducted in Finland and published in JAMA Psychiatry.
Gastroenterologists should ‘start to own,’ embrace role in care for chronic liver disease
Chronic liver disease is the ninth leading cause of death in the United States, independent of liver cancer. According to the CDC, only 1.8% of adult Americans have a diagnosis of chronic liver disease, which translates to 4.5 million people.
Early intervention critical, before ‘significant clinical toll’ from excessive alcohol use
Alcohol use disorder has a huge impact on liver health. Regardless of whether patients have other primary etiology for liver disease, alcohol — even in minimal amounts — can worsen liver outcomes.
Liver disease, frequency of alcohol-related care linked to mortality, hospital readmission
Individuals with alcohol-related liver disease and frequent health care utilization were at greater risk for mortality and hospital readmission, respectively, according to a cohort study of alcohol-related hospitalizations in Canada.
Liver fibrosis screening linked to lifestyle changes in individuals at risk for ALD, MASLD
Screening for liver fibrosis was associated with improved self-reported alcohol consumption, diet, exercise and weight after 6 months among patients at risk for liver disease, with lifestyle changes persisting through 2 years.
Dry January campaign aims to make ‘first step’ toward abstinence less daunting
Each January, Alcohol Change UK runs Dry January, a post-holiday campaign that encourages people to abstain from alcohol for 31 days at the beginning of the year and drink more healthily year-round.