Obesity not drink behind liver crisis for under-25s
A GROWING number of young people are suffering liver damage, but it is through obesity rather than excessive drinking.
Experts warn the high levels of fatty liver disease is a “silent epidemic” which could signal a public health crisis.
The condition is normally associated with people in their 50s and 60s – but a major study reveals one in five young adults has warning signs.
The surprising findings come from scans of more than 4,000 24-year-olds in one of the largest pieces of research into liver disease in the young.
Dr Kushala Abeysekera, from the University of Bristol who led the study, said: “Fatty liver disease is a ‘silent’ illness that can go decades without a patient feeling unwell.”
And Professor Sir Ian Gilmore, a leading expert in liver disease and past president of the Royal College of
Physicians, said: “This is a silent epidemic. While we have seen a drop in the number of young people drinking alcohol, the curve of the weight distribution has risen progressively over the past decades, so we are seeing more people with obesity than ever before.
“This means that non-alcohol related fatty liver disease is the new danger.
“Some of these cases will lead to liver damage and we will see a surge in cirrhosis in the next three decades.”
He added: “Unless action is taken now we can anticipate a public health crisis in years to come.”
Fatty liver disease is caused by the build-up of fat cells. It can lead to liver fibrosis, scarring as well as potentially deadly and irreversible cirrhosis.
Alcohol and diet-related harm to the liver costs the NHS £3.5billion a year with mortality rates up more than 400 per cent in the past 50 years.
The study of the 24-year-olds is part of a research project that has followed the health of thousands of Bristol children since the 1990s.
While one in five young people had early liver changes caused by fatty liver, one in 40 had more advanced disease.
Published in The Lancet Gastroenterology & Hepatology journal, it is the first attempt to discover fatty liver disease and fibrosis in young healthy adults in the UK.
The researchers are planning to follow the 24-year-olds, scanning them at 32 to see how their livers are doing compared to eight years earlier.
Fatty liver disease is reversible if people eat a good diet, get back to a normal weight, exercise and drink only in moderation.