A new epidemic of liver diseases is emerging in Europe. Hundreds of thousands of people die every year as a result of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and other liver diseases caused by alcohol and viral hepatitis. At the same time, most of these cases can be prevented relatively simply by a healthy lifestyle – limiting alcohol consumption, eating a healthy diet and getting enough exercise.
Liver diseases in Europe they become a silent epidemic that claims almost three hundred thousand lives every year. That’s according to a new report from the EASL–Lancet Commission on Liver Health. According to experts, it is mainly responsible for the growing number of deaths alcohol consumption, unhealthy diet, obesity and viral hepatitis. However, the study also states that lifestyle changes could reduce the burden of liver diseases in twenty-seven EU countries and other countries by almost half.
The economic impacts are significant – liver diseases cost Europe approximately fifty-five billion euros per year in lost productivity and other damages. Liver diseases are no longer associated only with alcohol. They also appear more and more often in people who drink little or not at all. This is, for example, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease associated with obesity, type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure. This disease develops over a long period of time without significant symptoms and can lead to cirrhosis, liver failure or cancer.
Experts also draw attention to the influence of digital advertising and social networks, which, according to them, expose children and young people to the promotion of alcohol and unhealthy foods. Without quick measures such as higher alcohol taxation, better screening and early diagnosis, the pressure on health systems will continue to grow, according to experts.
