Death warning to young drinkers

Deaths from cirrhosis of the liver are increasing sharply in women after growing in number among men for some time. The Government's Chief Medical Officer, Professor Liam Donaldson, has pointed to heavy drinking by young people as the cause of the alarming rise in cirrhosis cases and adds that females are showing signs of permanent liver damage at an earlier age.

In his annual report, a summary of "neglected" areas of the nation's health, Professor Donaldson also highlights the need to identify and treat cases of high blood pressure and to give more help to patients with epilepsy. It is, however, the rise in the number of cirrhosis deaths which is a "particular concern", he says.

Cirrhosis, which causes permanent scarring and damage to the liver, is irreversible, although treatment can prevent further degeneration.

The report appears at a time when double the number of 18 to 24-year-old women as men are drinking at or beyond the danger levels. Among 35 to 44-year-olds, there has been an eight-fold increase in cirrhosis deaths among men and seven-fold among women. "In 2000," Says Professor Donaldson, "[cirrhosis] killed more men than Parkinson's disease and more women than cancer of the cervix."

While some of this increase can be blamed on the side effects of long-term infection with hepatitis B and C, Professor Donaldson says that the most "convincing explanation" is alcohol. He says: "There is a clear need for a comprehensive approach, across and beyond government, to address the consequences of problematic drinking.

"Public awareness needs to be raised that certain patterns of heavy drinking are potentially dangerous in producing cumulative damage to the liver."

The government is still working on its long-promised alcohol strategy, which is now expected to be published in 2004.

Jean Coussins, director of the drinks industry-funded Portman Group, said: "The Portman Group's own research shows that up to a million young men and women in that age group regularly drink deliberately to get drunk. Too many young adults see sensible drinking and having a good time as mutually exclusive pursuits." The solution, at least in part, lies in the hands of the Portman Group's paymasters who aggressively market their produce at the younger age groups.

The Vice-President of the British Liver Trust, Professor Peter Scheuer, said he was not surprised by the increasing incidence of cirrhosis, though he added that alcohol was not the only cause. The increase in Hepatitis C had also contributed to the problem.

Professor Scheuer said that the increase in cirrhosis amongst women was a "sociological" phenomenon rather than a medical one. "Women are thought to be more susceptible and they get problems with alcohol earlier and quicker so they are more likely to develop cirrhosis of the liver for relatively small amounts of alcohol."

In the context of the rise in cirrhosis deaths, the report expresses concern at the upsurge of binge drinking, saying that "there is evidence of substantial numbers drinking heavily and in a binge drinking pattern":

Men reporting a maximum daily amount consumed in the last week of more than eight units of alcohol:

All ages: 21 per cent

16–24 years: 37 per cent

Women reporting a maximum daily amount consumed in the last week of more than six units of alcohol:

All ages: 8 per cent

16–24 years: 23 per cent

(Source: General Household Survey 1998, Office for National Statistics.)