The disease is common in people between 40 and 50 years of age. Men are more likely to have this problem. However, women may develop the disease after less exposure to alcohol than men. Some people may have an inherited risk for the disease.
Cirrhosis is more common in adults ages 45 to 54. About 1 in 200 adults ages 45 to 54 in the United States has cirrhosis. Researchers believe the actual numbers may be higher because many people with cirrhosis are not diagnosed.
The main symptoms of cirrhosis include: tiredness and weakness. feeling sick (nausea) and loss of appetite resulting in weight loss. red patches on your palms and small, spider-like blood vessels on your skin (spider angiomas) above waist level.
"Alcohol-related liver cirrhosis used to be considered a disease that would happen after 30 years of heavy alcohol consumption," Shah says. "But this study is showing that these problems are actually occurring in individuals in their 20s and 30s."
Alcohol-related cirrhosis usually develops after 10 or more years of heavy drinking. Women who drink heavily are more likely to get liver damage than men, partly because of their different size and build.
Cirrhosis often has no signs or symptoms until liver damage is extensive. When signs and symptoms do occur, they may include: Fatigue. Easily bleeding or bruising.
According to some reports, cirrhosis does not develop below a lifetime alcohol consumption of 100 kg of undiluted alcohol[8]. This amount corresponds to an average daily intake of 30 grams of undiluted alcohol for 10 years.
If you do not have liver disease, an occasional alcoholic drink probably won't cause cirrhosis. However, heavy drinking (defined as having 8 or more drinks per week for women and 15 or more for men) is known to cause cirrhosis. 3 This can develop into alcoholic liver disease.
Depending on the cause, cirrhosis can develop over months or years. There is no cure. Treatment aims to halt liver damage, manage the symptoms and reduce the risk of complications, such as diabetes, osteoporosis (brittle bones), liver cancer and liver failure.
It is estimated that alcohol-related fatty liver disease develops in 90% of people who drink more than 40g of alcohol (or four units) per day. That's roughly the equivalent of two medium (175ml) glasses of 12% ABV wine, or less than two pints of regular strength (4% ABV) beer.
Cirrhosis cannot usually be cured, but there are ways to manage the symptoms and any complications, and stop the condition getting worse.
The damage caused by cirrhosis is unfortunately irreversible. To determine if you have alcoholic liver disease your doctor will probably test your blood, take a biopsy of the liver, and do a liver function test. You should also have other tests to rule out other diseases that could be causing your symptoms.
Cirrhosis Can Develop Very Rapidly in Some
Usually, alcoholic cirrhosis develops after more than a decade of heavy drinking, but that is not always the case. Due to genetic factors, some heavy drinkers can develop cirrhosis much sooner.
In its advanced stages, cirrhosis is usually irreversible, so treatment may involve liver transplant. In its earlier stages, cirrhosis may be reversible if the underlying cause can be treated.
SEATTLE – Twice as many men as women are dying from liver cirrhosis, according to a new scientific study. Globally, cirrhosis caused more than 1.3 million deaths in 2017, two-thirds of which were men.
Some alcoholics may suffer seriously from the many physical and psychological symptoms of alcoholism, but escape serious liver damage. Alcoholic cirrhosis is found among alcoholics about 10 to 25 percent of the time.
Your liver may keep working even when you have cirrhosis. However, cirrhosis can eventually lead to liver failure, and you can get serious complications, which can be life threatening. Treatment may be able to stop cirrhosis from getting worse.
It takes upwards of ten years for alcohol-related liver disease to progress from fatty liver through fibrosis to cirrhosis to acute on chronic liver failure. This process is silent and symptom free and can easily be missed in primary care, usually presenting with advanced cirrhosis.
This can lead to liver failure. Usually the damage cannot be reversed. Between 10 to 20 percent of heavy drinkers develop cirrhosis typically after 10 or more years of drinking.
"Hard liquor contains more alcohol than beer or wine, making it more dangerous for your liver," continues Coleman. "A single shot of 80-proof hard liquor contains about 15 grams of alcohol and most shots contain even more alcohol than this." Another alcoholic beverage also takes a considerable toll on your liver.
Individuals who drank more than 5 drinks per day had a relative risk of 14 to 20 for developing cirrhosis compared with non- or light drinkers.
Cirrhosis is a stage of ARLD where the liver has become significantly scarred. Even at this stage, there may not be any obvious symptoms. It's generally not reversible, but stopping drinking alcohol immediately can prevent further damage and significantly increase your life expectancy.
Across all consumption levels, RRs in women were higher, reaching RR = 24.58 (95% CI: 14.77–40.90) for ≥7 drinks. While consumption of 1–2 drinks was associated with a substantially elevated risk for liver cirrhosis in women, this was not the case in men.
Heavy Alcohol Use:
For men, consuming more than 4 drinks on any day or more than 14 drinks per week. For women, consuming more than 3 drinks on any day or more than 7 drinks per week.