Results from a study by the Lancet Medical Journal, liver disease will become the number one killer in the UK, and the main cause of premature deaths. The main culprits are obesity and, unsurprisingly, alcohol. The main cause of premature deaths is due to coronary diseases. This is also linked with obesity and unhealthy lifestyles. By 2020, it’s set to overtake heart disease.
This could be a disease that affects those under 40. Per the study, most of the people dying are younger than 40 years old. Alcohol and obesity have proven to be a healthcare hazard, as seen in the large amount of deaths in the current leading cause of death, coronary diseases.
The research calculated the average amount of working years that could be lost because of these two diseases is set to increase. In the next two years, more than 80,000 years of a working could be lost through liver disease. This is calculated by subtracting the average age of death by liver disease from the average retirement age.
On the other hand, through heart disease, about 76,000 working years will be lost, and the rate is actually set to decrease in the coming years. According to a professor at an accomplished university in the United Kingdom, the most people who die from these diseases will be middle aged. Having shadowed ward rounds at a local hospital, he noticed that a large part of the people were 39 or younger. The Lancet Medical took his findings and published it in their study.
The professor also claims that Westminster should follow the Scottish Government by setting a minimum price per unit. The Scottish government declared that from April 2018 onwards there will be an implementation of a minimum set price for one unit of alcohol. This will come into place to help to try to lower the levels of alcohol abuse in the country. The chief executive of the British Liver Trust, also commented on the link between alcohol abuse and liver disease. She claimed that the numbers show an imminent liver disease crisis. The costs of diagnosing and identifying it early are enormous and the primary care sector should be better equipped to prevent these diseases, according to Ms Rhys.
The chief executive of the Institute of Alcohol Studies added to that. She stated that the report confirms the fears that they have had for the past years. To the Institute, the numbers were to be expected and that the death toll was largely preventable.
