Alcoholic liver cirrhosis, more than a simple hepatic disease – A brief review of the risk factors associated with alcohol abuse

Journal of Mind and Medical Sciences Volume 6 | Issue 2 Article 8 2019 Alcoholic liver cirrhosis, more than a simple hepatic disease – A brief review of the risk factors associated with alcohol abuse Sergiu I. Micu Madalina E. Manea Roxana Popoiag Dragana Nikolic Dumitru Andrada See next page for additional authors Follow this and additional works at: https://scholar.valpo.edu/jmms Part of the Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolism Commons, Preventive Medicine Commons, and the Psychiatry Commons Recommended Citation Micu, Sergiu I.; Manea, Madalina E.; Popoiag, Roxana; Nikolic, Dragana; Andrada, Dumitru; Patti, Angelo M.; Musat, Marilena; Balalau, Cristian; Rogoveanu, Anca; Rizzo, Manfredi; and Pantea Stoian, Anca (2019) "Alcoholic liver cirrhosis, more than a simple hepatic disease – A brief review of the risk factors associated with alcohol abuse," Journal of Mind and Medical Sciences: Vol. 6 : Iss. 2 , Article 8. DOI: 10.22543/7674.62.P232236 Available at: https://scholar.valpo.edu/jmms/vol6/iss2/8 This Review Article is brought to you for free and open access by ValpoScholar. It has been accepted for inclusion in Journal of Mind and Medical Sciences by an authorized administrator of ValpoScholar. For more information, please contact a ValpoScholar staff member at . Alcoholic liver cirrhosis, more than a simple hepatic disease – A brief review of the risk factors associated with alcohol abuse Authors Sergiu I. Micu, Madalina E. Manea, Roxana Popoiag, Dragana Nikolic, Dumitru Andrada, Angelo M. Patti, Marilena Musat, Cristian Balalau, Anca Rogoveanu, Manfredi Rizzo, and Anca Pantea Stoian This review article is available in Journal of Mind and Medical Sciences: https://scholar.valpo.edu/jmms/vol6/iss2/8 https://scholar.valpo.edu/jmms/ https://proscholar.org/jmms/ ISSN: 2392-7674 J Mind Med Sci. 2019; 6(2): 232-236 doi: 10.22543/7674.62.P232236 Received for publication: March 27, 2019 Accepted: July 29, 2019 Review Alcoholic liver cirrhosis, more than a simple hepatic disease – A brief review of the risk factors associated with alcohol abuse Sergiu Ioan Micu1, Madalina Elena Manea2, Roxana Popoiag3, Dragana Nikolic4,5, Dumitru Andrada1, Angelo Maria Patti6, Marilena Musat1, Cristian Balalau7, Anca Rogoveanu1, Manfredi Rizzo4, Anca Pantea Stoian8 1 St. Apostle Andrew Emergency Hospital, Department of Gastroenterology, Constanta; 2St. Apostle Andrew Emergency Hospital, Department of Diabetes Mellitus and Nutritional Diseases, Constanta; 3Ovidius University Faculty of Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine/ Gastroenterology, Constanta; 4The University of Palermo, PROMISE Department, Palermo, Italy; 5Euro-Mediterranean Institute of Science and Technology (I.E.M.E.S.T.), Palermo, Italy; 6University of Palermo, The School of Medicine, Biomedical Department of Internal Medicine and Medical Specialties, Palermo, Italy; 7Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 8Department of Diabetes Mellitus and Nutritional Diseases, Bucharest, Romania Abstract Liver cirrhosis is a significant public health problem, being an important cause of mortality and morbidity, responsible for approximately 1.8% of the total number of deaths in Europe. Chronic alcohol consumption is the most common cause of liver cirrhosis in developed countries. Europe has the highest level of alcohol consumption among all the global World Health Organisation (WHO) regions. In this paper, we briefly review major factors leading to excessive alcohol consumption in order to draw attention to the fact that alcoholic liver cirrhosis is more than a simple liver disease, and if those risk/causal factors can be prevented, the incidence of this disease could be reduced greatly. Although excessive alcohol consumption is regarded as the cause of alcoholic liver cirrhosis, the etiology is complex, involving multiple factors that act in synchrony, and which, if prevented, could greatly reduce the incidence of this disease. Children of addicts are likely to develop an alcohol-related mental disorder; however, there is no “gene for alcoholism”. Keywords  Highlights ✓ Media exposure contributes to the influence on social alcoholic norms. Advertisements for alcoholic products mainly affects the young population, thus increasing their alcohol consumption. liver cirrhosis, alcohol abuse, social, environmental and inherited risk factors ✓ Alcohol may be used as a coping mechanism for stressful and traumatic situations. To cite this article: Micu SI, Manea ME, Popoiag R, Nikolic D, Dumitru A, Patti AM, Musat M, Balalau C, Rogoveanu A, Rizzo M, Stoian AP. Alcoholic liver cirrhosis, more than a simple hepatic disease – A brief review of the risk factors associated with alcohol abuse. J Mind Med Sci. 2019; 6(2): 232-236. DOI: 10.22543/7674.62.P232236 *Corresponding authors: Sergiu I Micu (), Roxana Popoiag (), Ovidius University/ Faculty of Medicine, St. Apostle Andrew Emergency Hospital, Department of Internal Medicine/ Gastroenterology, Constanta Sergiu Ioan Micu et al. Introduction Chronic alcohol consumption and related liver diseases are the common causes of liver cirrhosis in most developed countries. Abusive alcohol consumption results from a variety of factors that differ across individuals but that may augment one another. Liver cirrhosis is the final stage in the progression of chronic hepatic disease, that is morphologically defined as a pathologically diffused process that affects the structure and the architecture of the liver through fibrosis and nodular transformation, which ultimately leads to hepatic failure. Liver cirrhosis represents a significant public health problem, being a significant cause of mortality and morbidity. Its prevalence among the general population is difficult to specify as it is affected by modifiable risk factors such as chronic alcohol consumption, chronic viral hepatitis, and being overweight. In 2010, liver cirrhosis was the 23rd cause of death worldwide, accounting for 31 million deaths (1, 2). The World Health Organization (WHO) shows that 1.8% of the deaths in Europe (about 700,000 people) occur due to liver cirrhosis. The primary etiology of liver cirrhosis is twofold: chronic alcohol consumption and chronic viral hepatitis (3, 4). Chronic alcohol consumption is a common cause of liver cirrhosis in most developed countries. Europe has the highest level of alcohol consumption of all the global WHO regions (5). Discussions The concern related to chronic alcohol consumption Alcohol, in its various forms, concentrations, flavors, but with the same type of effects, is the most widely used drug in the world, having the advantage of legality and, in particular, of unconditional acceptance by most societies. The effects of alcohol (tonic, sedative, aphrodisiac) have been known for thousands of years, and the relationship with liver disease for over 200 years. The excessive consumption of alcohol is responsible for 3.3 million deaths signifying roughly 6% of (...truncated)