Fewer people are diagnosed with alcohol-related liver disease

In recent years, alcohol consumption has decreased in Denmark. This is now reflected in the number of cases with liver damage, which researchers from AU and AUH have just examined.

"We have looked at the incidence, hospital treatment and mortality of alcohol-related liver disease in Denmark over the last 25 years," says Frederik Kraglund, PhD student from the Department of Clinical Medicine at Aarhus University and medical doctor at the Department of Hepatology and Gastroenterology at Aarhus University Hospital, who is one of the researchers behind the study.

The number of newly diagnosed cases of alcohol-related liver disease decreased from 357 per million Danes in 2009 to 240 per million Danes in 2018. A decrease that is seen in both sexes and is most pronounced among the younger generations born after 1960. 

The researchers also expect to see a further decrease in the future. This is due to the trend seen across generations. For example, 40-50 year-olds currently have a significantly lower incidence of alcohol-related liver disease than 60-70-year-olds had 20 years ago when they were 40-50 years old.

The results have just been published in the recognised scientific journal Clinical Epidemiology.

"The decrease in the number of people with newly diagnosed alcohol-related liver disease coincides with the decrease in the sale of alcohol in Denmark in the same period. However, we haven’t explored the causes of this development in more detail," he says.

The volume of pure alcohol sold has decreased by 22 per cent from 1994 to 2018. On average, approx. 13 litres of pure alcohol was sold per person over the age of 18 in 1994, while in 2018, the figure was just under 10 litres.

"We can use the results to show that alcohol-related disease follows the population's alcohol consumption. Even though the development of alcohol-related liver disease is moving in the right direction, Denmark still has a high mortality rate due to alcohol-related liver disease. If we wish to see less alcohol-related mortality in Denmark, we must continue to work to reduce the population's alcohol consumption," says Frederik Kraglund.

With the help of the Danish health registers, the researchers identified 41,316 patients who were diagnosed with alcohol-related liver disease between 1994 and 2018. During this period, the median age at the time of the first diagnosis rose from 52 to 62 years of age.

While the incidence of alcohol-related liver disease has decreased, so too has the mortality rate since 1994. 

"The lower mortality is in part explained by the fact that the disease is generally being diagnosed at an earlier stage with a lower prevalence of life-threatening complications.. Furthermore, patients with alcohol-related liver disease have on average significantly fewer hospitalisations and visits to the emergency department than 25 years ago," says the researcher.

Background for the results

• Register-based study
• The scientific article can be read here Decreasing Incidence of Alcohol-Related Liver Disease in Denmark: A 25 | CLEP (dovepress.com)

Kontakt

Frederik Kraglund, PhD student & MD
Aarhus University, Department of Clinical Medicine and 
Aarhus University Hospital, Department of Hepatology and Gastroenterology
M: (+45) 2242 3717

Peter Jepsen, Senior Researcher & Specialty Registrar
Aarhus University Hospital, Department of Hepatology and Gastroenterology
M: (+45) 2425 2944