Doctors report ‘worrying’ increase in younger people with liver disease as Americans drink more alcohol

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• Experts believe that unemployment and loneliness associated with pandemics can cause the use of alcohol.
• The prices of alcoholic liver diseases increased as alcohol sales and alcohol consumption increased.
• Over time, alcoholic liver disease can lead to cirrhosis, which can be fatal.
• Visit Insider’s homepage for more stories.

During the eleven months since the pandemic began, drink rates and alcohol sales have steadily increased.

Doctors have warned that it is worrying, and some believe we are already seeing the effects, as alcoholic liver disease is on the rise among people under 40.

Although the trend “has been worrying for years”, dr. Raymond Chung, a hepatologist at Harvard University, told Eli Cahan of the Los Angeles Times and California Healthline the pandemic exacerbated the problem. “What we see now is really dramatic.”

Dr. Haripriya Maddur, a hepatologist at Northwestern Medicine, also treats young people with alcohol-related health problems, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Read more: 6 dangerous things that can happen to your body if you drink too much

Maddur said young people experience unique problems, such as starting a family or finding a job in a difficult economy.

“They have mouths to feed and bills to pay, but no jobs,” she told the Los Angeles Times, “so they go for booze as the last remaining mechanism.”

The Harmful Consequences of Alcohol Abuse

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, heavy drinking and alcohol use are considered excessive alcohol use. Excessive drinking is defined as five or more drinks for men in one night, or 15 drinks or more throughout the course of the week. For women, it’s four or more drinks on one occasion, or eight or more drinks in one week.

The short-term consequences for the health of alcohol abuse include that you may get alcohol poisoning or a miscarriage among pregnant women. However, if you continue to drink excessively over time, it can lead to high blood pressure, mental health problems or alcoholism.

If excessive drinking continues over the years, it can lead to an oily liver, an inflamed liver or cirrhosis, which causes scarring of the liver. Once cirrhosis progresses, it is harder for your liver to function, which can be fatal, according to the Mayo Clinic.

Some experts are worried that alcohol abuse will continue long after the pandemic is over

Alcohol sales rose during the pandemic. Alcohol use increased by 14% in the spring of 2020, compared to the same period in 2019, according to one study.

Another study by researchers from the RAND company found that alcohol consumption during the pandemic was almost 30% higher, compared to a few months earlier.

Experts are concerned that we are only seeing the beginnings of alarming alcohol use levels, and fear that the pandemic will have long-term consequences.

“I think we’re just about to do that,” Maddur told the Los Angeles Times. “Quarantine is one thing, but the downturn in the economy is not going to go away any time soon.”