Unanimous outcry from almost a thousand hepatologists gathered a few days ago at the Congress of the Spanish Association for the Study of the Liver (AEEH) against alcohol consumption, which causes half of liver cancers and cirrhosis. And yes, it is mostly in adulthood when these problems appear, but more and more frequently they see young people with liver problems as a result of an increasingly early consumption of alcoholic beverages, in the face of the passivity of a society that systematically whitewashes the intake. of alcohol, they indicated. The profile of liver patients, they say, is changing: they are increasingly younger and, although men are the majority, it has increased alarmingly among women, as they adopt habits that were previously predominant in men.
“Society is, in general, little aware of the silent epidemic that liver diseases represent, which are related to unhealthy lifestyles and diets and which are nevertheless increasingly normalized. It is necessary to take a very serious approach to alcohol consumption at increasingly younger ages, as it is already the first cause of the development of cirrhosis and the need for a liver transplant. But it is also necessary to address and correct the progression (general in the population and particularly among young people) of fatty liver, which already affects more than 10 million Spaniards, of which nearly two million would present inflammation of the liver (steatohepatitis) and Of them, 400,0000 would already have liver cirrhosis,” explained Manuel Romero, president of the AEEH.
According to data from the 2023 Estudes survey, more than 70% of minors between 14 and 18 years of age had consumed alcohol in the last twelve months and just over half had consumed it in the last 30 days. “This is truly outrageous. The liver of minors cannot metabolize alcohol and, nevertheless, they drink with total impunity because it is sold to them without control,” cries Ramón Bataller, hepatologist at the Clinic hospital and expert in alcohol and liver disease. “We will not tire of saying that the only safe consumption is zero, but who will we convince when access to alcohol is so easy,” he explains.
Hepatologists also warn that the consumption patterns of young people are especially dangerous, as they combine a greater risk with a lower perception of it. Thus, for example, the effects of binge drinking (eating large amounts of alcohol in a few hours), so common on weekends, can be more harmful to liver health than moderate consumption.
However, at the same time, the false conviction that occasional consumption, although excessive, has fewer risks, is increasingly widespread. “None of this is true,” says Bataller.
In this sense, the AEEH experts consider the announcement by the Ministry of Health of the preparation of a draft law to prevent alcohol consumption among minors as “very good news,” and with the specific objective of contributing to a cultural change that modifies the perception of the risk of alcoholic beverages.
But they believe that this initiative by itself will remain “lame” if it is not accompanied by a national liver health plan that provides a comprehensive response to the growing prevalence and incidence of liver pathologies and in general to the paradigm shift in its evolution and etiology, with a growing prominence of what is known as fatty liver and liver disease related to alcohol consumption.
