Liver Disease is fifth largest killer in U.K

A research study published last week reports that forty percent, of over a thousand people who had their liver function tested showed high levels of enzymes, known to be an indicator of increased liver failure leading to death.With liver failure, symptoms only appear once significant liver damage has occurred and cannot be reversed.

Liver disease is the fifth largest killer in the UK and still on the increase. It is responsible for seven thousand five hundred deaths per year but is also almost completely preventable.

 

Everyone should aim to keep to the recommended alcohol intake which is a maximum of:

• fourteen to twenty one units a week for women

• twenty one units to twenty eight  units/week for men

Ideally less should be consumed and binge drinking is more hazardous to health than regular sensible drinking.

With the current trend in rising costs to drink out and the falling cost of supermarket alcohol more people are drinking at home. Many underestimate the number of units they drink as servings are often in large glasses.

For those who drink above the recommended limits, a liver function blood test may prove a useful screening tool to detect early stages of liver disease and stop the damage before it becomes irreversible.