Albertans hospitalized for alcohol-related liver disease doubled during first wave of pandemic: study

CALGARY — A study from the University of Calgary finds the number of Albertans hospitalized for an alcohol-related liver disease almost doubled during the first wave of the pandemic.

Dr. Abdel-Aziz Shaheen, an assistant professor at the Cumming School of Medicine, says patients admitted for alcoholic hepatitis were also younger, with an average age of 43, compared to 48 before the pandemic.

The U of C study found hospitalization rates for the condition — which is inflammation of the liver as a result of excessive drinking — increased to 22.1 per 10,000 admissions, up from 11.6 per 10,000 admissions before the pandemic.


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The condition can be reversed if caught early but, in serious circumstances, can lead to end-stage liver disease, liver transplants and death.

The study compared data on all adult Alberta-based patients admitted to hospital between Mar. 2020 and Sept. 2020, to data on admissions between Mar. 2018 and Feb. 2020.

Shaheen says physicians from England, France and the United States have reported similar trends.

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