From Shadows to Spotlight: Exploring the Escalating Burden of Alcohol-Associated Liver Disease and Alcohol Use Disorder in Young Women

Abstract

Objectives: The burden of alcohol-related complications is considerable, particularly alcohol-associated liver disease (ALD) and alcohol use disorder (AUD). However, there are deficiencies in comprehensive epidemiological research focusing on these issues, especially among young women who display higher susceptibility to such complications compared to their male counterparts. We thus aimed to determine the global burden of these conditions in this vulnerable group. Methods: Leveraging data from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019, we analyzed the prevalence, mortality, and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) of alcohol-associated cirrhosis (AC), liver cancer from alcohol, and AUD in young women. The findings were categorized by region, nation, and sociodemographic index. Results: The highest age-standardized prevalence rates were observed in AUD (895.96 [95% UI 722.6 to 1103.58]) followed by AC (65.33 [95% UI 48.37 to 86.49]) and liver cancer from alcohol (0.13 [95% UI 0.09 to 0.19]) per 100,000 people. In terms of mortality, the highest age-standardized rates were observed in AC (0.75 [95% UI 0.55 to 0.97]) followed by AUD (0.48 [95% UI 0.43 to 0.53]) and liver cancer from alcohol (0.06 [95% UI 0.04 to 0.09]). The highest burdens of AC and AUD were observed in Central Europe, whereas the high-income Asia Pacific had the highest burden of liver cancer from alcohol. Conclusions: Throughout the last decade, the trend of AUD varied among regions while the impact of ALD has increased, requiring urgent public health strategy to mitigate these complications, particularly in females in Europe and the Asia-Pacific region.

Global and regional burden of alcohol-associated liver disease and alcohol use disorder in the elderly

“…The adopted methodology to ascertain the disease burden of alcohol-related complications from the GBD 2019 study has been outlined in a previous study. [10] , [11] , [12] , [13] In brief, the data used in this study were derived from population-based health registries, vital registration systems, or verbal autopsy studies. To ensure data accuracy, the GBD 2019 study assessed the data quality from each country or territory on a scale from 0 (lowest quality) to 5 (highest quality).…”

What Is New in Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Steatotic Liver Disease in Lean Individuals: From Bench to Bedside

“…Furthermore, the extent of alcohol intake is frequently a complicating factor for patients with MASLD, often due to inaccuracies in reporting alcohol consumption levels [ 19 ]. There is increasing evidence highlighting a growing trend in both alcohol use and alcohol-associated liver disease [ 74 , 75 ]. Therefore, identifying patients with lean MASLD could possibly be enhanced by excluding those with alcohol-associated liver disease, potentially through the detection of alcohol biomarkers [ 76 , 77 ].…”

Socio‐economic association of alcohol use disorder and cardiovascular and alcohol‐associated liver disease from 2010 to 2019

“…The data supporting these assessments can be found in previous GBD 2019 publications. 2,[11][12][13] This study extracted data on prevalence, mortality, and DALYs for conditions including AUD, ALD (designated in GBD as cirrhosis and chronic liver disease from alcohol), alcohol-attributable primary liver cancer, and ACM. However, for conditions including AF/ AFL, HTN, and stroke, which the GBD 2019 classifies as alcoholrelated risk factors rather than specific disorders, we gathered only data on mortality and DALYs.…”

“…Alcohol misuse constitutes a critical etiological factor for disability and mortality worldwide. 1,2 In 2019, nearly 43% of the global adult population reported consuming alcohol. 3,4 Alcohol contributes nearly 5% of the global burden of diseases.…”