A new report has found Australians are experiencing severe liver disease from alcohol use at younger ages, prompting calls for action to reduce harm.
The report from the Burnet Institute, commissioned by FARE, investigated three major contributors to alcohol-related death in Australia: alcohol-associated hepatitis, alcohol-related liver cirrhosis and alcohol associated hepatocellular carcinoma (liver cancer).
The findings underscore the need for comprehensive, evidence-based alcohol control policies in Victoria, including measures that address alcohol availability and its advertising, sponsorship and promotion.
Key findings
Alcohol-associated hepatitis
- Rates of alcohol associated hepatitis, or liver inflammation, increased drastically during the COVID-19 pandemic and have remained significantly higher than pre-pandemic levels.
- Concerning numbers of Australians as young as in their 30s are being diagnosed with alcohol-associated hepatitis, a life-threatening condition. 40 per cent of people hospitalised for liver inflammation in Victoria were under 46 years old.
- Women now account for 1 in 3 cases of alcohol-associated hepatitis in Victoria. The number of women admitted to hospital sharply increased during COVID and has remained higher than post-covid levels.
- The number of men admitted to hospital with liver inflammation is more than double the rate from before the pandemic.
Alcohol-related liver cirrhosis
- Alcohol associated liver disease has the fastest progression to cirrhosis (permanent scarring of the liver).
- 50 per cent of people with alcohol-related liver disease in the study developed cirrhosis within 6 years.
Hepatocellular carcinoma (liver cancer)
- Alcohol was the primary or contributing cause of more than a third of hepatocellular carcinoma (liver cancer) cases in Greater Melbourne during the study period.
- People with alcohol-associated liver cancer in the study were younger than people who had liver cancer where alcohol was not the contributing cause. They were also more likely to have severe liver disease and less likely to receive curate treatment – leading to worse overall survival from diagnosis.
This report adds to findings from a Federal Government inquiry into alcohol and other drugs, which laid bare the extent of alcohol harm in Australia. The inquiry made several recommendations governments can act on right now to reduce harm.
