Alcohol consumption has grown by 21% during the COVID-19 pandemic and this will result in 8,000 additional deaths from alcohol-related liver disease, 18,700 cases of liver failure, and 1,000 cases of liver cancer by 2040, a study has found.
The study done by researchers at Harvard-affiliated Massachusetts General Hospital, says that by next year, this high intake of alcohol is expected to cause 100 additional deaths and 2,800 additional cases of liver failure. A sustained increase in alcohol consumption for over a year could result in 19 to 35 percent additional mortality, the researchers have said.
As per researchers at home and abroad, the etiology or the scientific study of alcoholic liver disease changes with time owing to various factors out of which the major one is lifestyle change. Researchers worldwide have corroborated that alcoholic liver disease is a serious health problem.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) says, alcohol consumption contributes to 3 million deaths each year globally as well as to the disabilities and poor health of millions of people. “Overall, harmful use of alcohol is responsible for 5.1% of the global burden of disease. Alcohol is the leading risk factor for premature mortality and disability among those aged 15 to 49 years, accounting for 10 percent of all deaths in this age group,” WHO says.
So, definitely a growth in the consumption of alcohol can create unprecedented havoc in the most productive group of population and this should be considered a serious concern.
As per the WHO's Global status report on alcohol and health 2018, the per capita consumption of alcohol in India was 5.7 litres in 2016. "The highest increase is expected in the South-East Asia Region, with an increase of 2.2 litres alone in India which represents a large proportion of the total population in this region," the report says. The report says in 2018 liver disease deaths in India had reached 264,193 and comprised 3% of the total deaths.
“While we have projected the expected impact of societal drinking changes associated with the COVID-19 pandemic without any interventions, we hope that our research can help jumpstart needed conversations at every level of society about how we can respond to the many behavioral changes, coping mechanisms, and choices that have short- and long-term implications for the health of individuals, families and communities in America,” Jovan Julien, a data analyst at the MGH Institute for Technology Assessment and the lead author of the research study says.
Aiming for a potential intervention to counter the impact of increased alcohol consumption co-author Turgay Ayer says, "the COVID-19 pandemic has had many unintended consequences with unknown long-term impact. Our modeling study provides a framework for quantifying the long-term impact of increased alcohol consumption associated with COVID-19 and initiating conversations for potential interventions."
While alcoholic addiction has always remained to be a serious topic, various initiatives have also been taken to help people abstain from its consumption. The last WHO report says, 7.6% of former drinkers in India had abstained from drinking alcohol in 2016. Worldwide in 2016, more than half (57%, or 3.1 billion people) of the global population aged 15 years and over had abstained from drinking alcohol in the previous 12 months, the report adds.
The WHO is currently developing an action plan (2022-2030) to effectively implement the Global strategy to reduce the harmful use of alcohol as a public health priority. It will develop a technical report on the harmful use of alcohol related to cross-border alcohol marketing, advertising and promotional activities, including targeting youth and adolescents, as well as to adequately resource the work on the harmful use of alcohol, as per an official statement.
