As with any disease, there are bound to be groups of people who are of greater danger.
The risk of becoming severely ill from COVID-19 increases steadily with age, especially for those with underlying medical problems.
These include those with:
- Cardiovascular disease
- Diabetes
- Chronic respiratory disease
- Cancer
The list goes on but you get the point.
In a new survey though, it is found that those with liver diseases and alcoholism are more likely to die from COVID-19.
If you love getting alcohol in your system, you might want to cut back on them.
Study indicates liver disease may reveal higher likelihood of death
In 2020, researchers based in France studied the national database of 259,000 COVID-19 patients admitted to hospitals.
Some 16,300 of those had been earlier diagnosed with chronic liver disease.
Their findings were presented this week at the International Liver Congress.
It is found that those with serious liver disease and a history of alcohol abuse were 80% more likely to die from COVID-19. On the contrary, they are also less likely to receive life-saving intubation.
To put things into perspective, the average rate of death generally was 15%. Among those with chronic liver disease though, the rate leapt to about a quarter.
Suddenly I feel like going on an alcohol ban to protect my previous liver.
According to the study, patients who suffered alcoholism, advanced cirrhosis, or liver cancer showed higher COVID-19 morbidity and were less likely to have been intubated.
Patients with milder liver problems were not at increased risk for COVID-19 mortality but received ventilation at a greater rate.
For example, people who have:
- Chronic liver disease unrelated to alcohol abuse
- Organ transplants
- Viral hepatitis
The study also mentioned that “Our results suggest that a limitation of the therapeutic effort may have contributed to the excess mortality of patients with a liver-related complication and patients with alcohol use disorders.”.
Professor Thomas Berg, incoming president of the European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL), cited that the findings reflect a growing trend in care for liver patients.
According to him, there are existing public data showing a correlation that having a liver-related issue and an alcohol-abuse disorder lowers the chances of being ventilated by 20-25%.
Other studies presented at the conference
That wasn’t the only study presented this week at the International Liver Congress. Other studies also narrated how the pandemic has impacted the use of alcohol in general.
Last month numbers from Britain’s Office of National Statistics showed that there has been a 20% rise from 2019 in deaths directly caused by misuse of alcohol.
Featured Image: Axel Bueckert/ shutterstock.com
