Alcohol Use

Around 17% of patients with metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease have or will be diagnosed with alcohol-related disease, which research shows is associated with a threefold higher rate of developing cirrhosis or cancer.

An analysis of ED utilization from 2016 to 2019 revealed an increase in visits for alcohol-associated hepatitis, particularly among patients aged 25 to 44 years, as well as an increase in disease severity.

Around 20% of U.S. child passenger deaths in auto accidents from 1982 through 2020 involved an alcohol-impaired driver — typically the child’s own driver, according to a study.

The popular trend of Dry January is coming to a close for the year, but it helped spark interest in the benefits of abstaining from alcohol, even for just a month.

More than 60% of 12th graders who responded to a yearly survey of junior high and high school students reported not using alcohol, cannabis or nicotine in the past 30 days — the highest level of abstention in the survey’s history.

Researchers recommended that patients with steatotic liver disease who are at a lower risk for advanced cirrhosis should consume no more than 7.4 grams of alcohol per day, the equivalent of a half a 12 oz. beer or half a glass of wine.

Patients with open-angle glaucoma who abstain from consuming alcohol may be at lower risk for severe visual impairment and blindness, according to a review published in JAMA Network Open.

VANCOUVER, British Columbia — With alcohol-related disease still on the rise after surging during the COVID-19 pandemic, an expert here discussed treatment options, including liver transplantation, for patients with alcoholic hepatitis.