Alcohol Use Disorder

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Substance use-related CVD deaths increased at an average of 4% per year from 1999 to 2019, with alcohol and opioids the most common contributors, despite an overall reduction in CVD mortality in the U.S. during the same period, data show.

BOSTON — Nancy S. Reau, MD, FAASLD, AGAF, spoke with Healio about results from the END C study, which evaluated a community-based care model for hepatitis C virus infection among individuals at multiple community homeless sites in England.

Acamprosate and oral naltrexone were associated with significantly improved alcohol consumption outcomes compared with placebo and could be used alongside psychosocial interventions as first-line treatment for alcohol use disorder.