Cirrhosis of the liver is on the rise, according to the New York Times. From 1999 to 2016, deaths increased 65%. The largest increase in deaths was in the population group aged 25 to 34. From 199 to 2008, in some groups including Native Americans and African Americans cirrhosis rates stayed steady or decreased. After 2008 both groups saw increase in cirrhosis deaths.
The author of the study cited in the newspaper article hypothesizes that the increase can be attributed to the Great Recession and economic despair among young men. He does acknowledge, however, that “almost every one of these deaths, particularly in the young, is completely preventable.”
Cirrhosis deaths are usually preventable because alcoholic abuse is the major cause of the illness. I have written about this in a previous post which you can read here.
This is the picture from that post.
