There has been a great increase in the incidence of Alcoholic Liver Disease (ALD) in Coastal Andhra Pradesh, said city based gastroenterologist Nalini Prasad Ippela. Dr. Prasad who heads the Gastroenterology Department in the Ramesh Group of Hospitals, says 30 to 40 per cent of the liver ailment patients in the Coastal Districts were suffering from ALD.
Giving a break up of the socio-economic status of the ALD patients, he said its incidence was higher in the poor because most of them were consuming poor quality liquors and next came the lower middle class who consumed liquor in quantity and frequency that cause liver damage out of ignorance. The rich were better off because the liquor they consumed was of a high quality and they also consumed comparatively more nutritive food.
Consuming more than 40 gm (that is equivalent to 180 ml or quarter bottle) of whiskey, more than thrice a week would damage liver. Alcohol was more toxic to women because it was found that the way they metabolise was different from the way men do it, Dr. Prasad said.
Women were twice as susceptible to alcohol-related liver disease and may develop ALD with shorter durations and smaller doses. This was because alcohol interfered with their metabolic rate that was tuned to their menstrual cycles.
Since the liver was a very efficient organ it was able to function without any symptoms even after considerable damage. A small part of liver could compensate for the part of the liver that was damaged. But by the time the symptoms, usually, jaundice, would show there was extensive damage, he said.
The ALD included ailments like fatty liver, alcoholic hepatitis and chronic hepatitis with liver fibrosis or cirrhosis. Fatty liver developed in individuals who consumed a large quantity of alcoholic beverages over a long period of time, but fortunately this process is transient and reversible. Once the patient stopped consuming alcohol, the condition was reversed, he said.
The only remedy for a damaged liver was transplantation which was both risky and very expensive. It was therefore better to take good care of the liver. Liver dysfunction was discovered when people undergo routine health checks and undergo liver function blood tests before irreparable damage was done, he said.
