There is a surge in people with liver diseases, probably due to heavy alcohol consumption in Ireland, says a new report by the Beumont Hospital. According to a report by Breaking News.ie, the hospital has seen an increase of 30% of liver patients over the 18 months from the first lockdown.
Professor John Ryan, a consultant at the hepatology unit at the hospital, told Newstalk’s Pat Kenny Show that such figures were also coming through at other Irish hospitals and internationally as people were drinking more at home during lockdown.
The rise in liver diseases are assumed to be due to the heavy drinking of people at home as the movements were tightly restricted during lockdowns.
In many cases the people involved did not know that they had liver disease, he added. “It’s a silent killer. The majority will not even know they have the condition.”
The patients on his ward who were aged from 20 to 80-years-old, across both genders.
People continued to “drink away” until the internal damage was advanced, he explained, outlining that the way a liver specialist examined blood samples was different from a GP. Half of people with cirrhosis had “normal” liver test results: “It could be normal, but there are big problems underneath.”
Prof Ryan said that in Ireland, alcohol was ingrained in society. People need to be better aware of the guidelines for alcohol intake which are17 units weekly for men and 11 units per week for women.
There are 10-11 units in a bottle of wine, he pointed out, so people who were drinking a bottle of wine five nights a week were consuming 50 units a week.
“That’s a lot. When you’re getting to that range you would need to come see me,” he warned.
According to him, minimum unit pricing, which is due to be introduced in January, could help reduce the levels of alcohol intake.