55 percent of people with alcohol use disorder present some degree of associated liver disease, "which continues to be an important public health problem", not only because of its frequency, but also because of the difficulties in detecting it before it reaches advanced stages, according to the main conclusions of the ReHALC Registry webinar of the Asociación Española para el Estudio del Hígado (AEEH).
Doctor Carlos Alventosa, a specialist in Digestive System at the Hospital General Universitario de Valencia, has pointed out that the overall prevalence of alcohol-associated liver disease "currently stands at 3.5%, and with an upward trend".
"It is also important to quantify consumption in drink units and not limit oneself to generic questions", has stated Hugo López, a medical specialist at the Unit of Addictive Behaviors and in the Section of Psychosomatic and Liaison Psychiatry of the Hospital Clínic de Barcelona, and a researcher at IDIBAPS.
Thus, in women, the risk increases significantly from consumption above 20-25 grams of alcohol per day (2-2.5 drink units), and in men, the risk threshold rises from consumption greater than 40 grams of alcohol per day (4 drink units).
Although, specialists have also emphasized that risk does not depend solely on the amount of alcohol consumed. It is necessary to assess the duration and pattern of consumption, as well as factors that can worsen damage, including type 2 diabetes and obesity, or other concomitant liver diseases such as viral hepatitis.
Doctor Ramón Bataller, director of the ReHALC Registry of the AEEH and head of the Hepatology Service at the Hospital Clínic de Barcelona, has insisted that care for these patients must be organized through real collaboration among hepatology professionals, internal medicine, psychiatry, and addiction specialists.
"When the two specialists present themselves to the patient—the gastroenterologist and the professional from the addiction consultation—is much better for the patient’s involvement in treatment", he has highlighted during his presentation. This coordination allows transmitting to the patient that they do not have to face two problems separately and that the healthcare team works jointly.
It also facilitates clinical decision-making, especially when there is advanced liver disease or a possible transplant is being considered.