HIDDEN HEALTH CRISIS

Liver disease warning

IT’S the hidden epidemic affecting 5.5 million Australians, most sufferers don’t know they have it yet it’s driving up transplant and cancer rates and contributing to a range of severe illnesses – and even death.

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease affects three times more people than diabetes and almost one million more people than heart disease but it has no early symptoms and cancers caused by it are usually diagnosed too late.

Doctors are warning we are facing a health “tsunami” as a third of adults develop the disease and they blame the nation’s obesity epidemic for the condition.

Around 1400 people are dying from liver cancer each year and liver transplants, which cost $200,000, are now second only to kidney transplants.

Fatty liver disease is now the third most common reason for a liver transplant and transplants linked to the disease have doubled in the past 10 years.

Unless something is done, eight million people will have the condition by 2030, says Liver Foundation Chairman, Ben Richardson.

“We are certainly on the edge of an epidemic, if not arrived at an epidemic of fatty liver disease,” says liver expert Professor Gary Jeffrey.

“In my view very few people are aware of the consequences of severe liver disease. You can die of liver failure. Primary liver cancer has not got the profile it needs.”

About 30 per cent of the adult population has some form of fatty liver disease which puts them at risk of not only cirrhosis (scarring of the liver) they are more likely to develop heart disease, stroke and kidney disease, he warned.

The liver is one of the most important organs in the body because it removes toxins and processes nutrients and blood from the digestive system, it makes hormones and blood clotting factors, is involved in fluid balance and kidney function.

Fatty liver disease happens when there is a build-up of excess fat in the liver cells which leads to inflammation of the liver, scarring it and causing it to harden, this cirrhosis often leads to liver failure and cancer.

A routine blood test that costs just $10 can identify the problem, but Prof Jeffrey said sometimes people don’t act on the results and sometimes even advanced cases are missed by this test.

If a patient gets an adverse liver function test result they should be referred for an ultrasound to check for fatty liver disease, he said.

People as young as 20 are being found to have fatty liver disease, he said. If the disease is caught early it can usually be successfully treated by lifestyle modifications.

Patients should lose weight and change their diet.

Research indicates the Mediterranean diet with plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables, whole grains, fish and olive oil is best for liver health.

People will also be asked to control their alcohol intake because drinking too much also damages the liver. But the liver also has the ability to regenerate even if there is severe scarring.