The UK needs a radical new approach to liver disease to prevent the NHS being overwhelmed by growing numbers of patients, experts say today.
In 40 years, death rates among adults under the age of 65 have increased by six times – and the UK is matched only by Finland in seeing rising rates of disease, according to a report published by The Lancet.
The report says early detection of liver diseases is "virtually non-existent" – and rates of disease are closely linked to deprivation.
According to the report, some of the regions of the UK with the highest rates have the worst provision for care of liver disease.
The report says the government should aim to cut deaths from liver disease – and that includes legislation to help deter alcohol abuse.
It warns that 10% of the population may experience liver disease at some point, pointing to alcohol, obesity and the hepatitis viruses as main causes.
Professor Roger Williams, director of the Institute of Hepatology, London, UK, said: "The evidence outlined in the report, contributed by some of the UK’s leading experts in the field, should leave nobody in any doubt about the present unacceptable levels of premature death and the overall poor standards of care being afforded to liver patients.
“The good news is that if our recommendations – many of which will require additional government regulatory action – are followed, deaths from liver disease will fall, with profound benefits in health and social wellbeing and economic productivity, as well as reduced costs for the NHS.
"However, the health and policy reforms we are recommending need to take place now – the scale of the problem is too great for it to take second place to short-term political considerations.”
Royal College of Physicians president Professor Jane Dacre said the report was "stark reading."
She said: "We are not doing enough to identify and help patients who are drinking a hazardous amount before it is too late for them.
"The evidence shows that most patients with liver disease are able to stop drinking when advised to do so by a consultant, yet this kind of brief intervention from doctors and nurses isn’t always funded or available at every hospital – a missed early chance to help could mean an early death."
Addressing liver disease in the UK: a blueprint for attaining excellence in health care and reducing premature mortality from lifestyle issues of excess consumption of alcohol, obesity, and viral hepatitis. Lancet 27 November 2014 [abstract]
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