Alcohol may help you forget life’s troubles — but it could create new ones for your health.
A study published Thursday has revealed a disturbing trend: The number of alcohol-related liver and pancreas problems are increasing disproportionately among adolescents and young adults, particularly females.
“These are kids that really don’t understand that in the end, complications that can occur,” Dr. Shari Sheflin, director of the Pediatric Liver Disease Program at Cohen Children’s Medical Center, told The Post. “Obviously we’re encouraging no alcohol consumption at all. But [also] teaching them to learn their limits because it’s very scary.”
The study, conducted by researchers at Queens University in Ontario, Canada, analyzed hospital visits and admissions for alcohol-induced organ damage over nearly two decades, focusing on those aged 13 to 39.
They identified 11,508 cases, with complications related to the pancreas more common than liver problems — 29% versus 19%, respectively.
Of the pancreas-related cases, a staggering 92% were acute pancreatitis, a painful and potentially deadly condition that can lead to severe complications when inflammation spreads to other organs.
Young people with alcohol-related pancreas problems were also more likely to be male, live in urban areas, and require hospitalization.
While young men still make up the majority of hospitalizations for alcohol-related liver disease and pancreatitis, researchers found that the rate of these conditions is rising faster among young women.
In fact, the rate of pancreatitis among females has jumped 12% annually, compared to just 7% among males. Liver complications are also increasing at a faster rate in women, growing 9% per year compared to 6% in men.
Meanwhile, other alcohol-related organ complications saw a slight decline in men, with a 1% drop annually, while women’s rates increased 2% per year.
“Our findings suggest that gastrointestinal complications from alcohol are increasing in [adolescents and young adults] at rates much higher than in other organ systems,” researchers wrote in the study, published in the journal JAMA Network Open.
In the United States, alcohol is often deeply embedded in social culture. Nearly 90% of American adults report having had an alcoholic beverage at some point in their lifetime, and 55% say they’ve had a drink within the past month, according to Yale Medicine.
Alcohol consumption — particularly heavy drinking — spiked during the coronavirus pandemic, as lockdowns and social isolation left many Americans feeling depressed and anxious.
“At this point it’s so easy for the adolescent population to obtain alcohol that it’s not even the concern of how did they get it,” said Sheflin. “It’s more about, ‘OK, what are you doing once you have it?’ There’s so many factors that go into understanding how much could be at stake when they’re drinking that they just aren’t mature enough yet to understand those components.”
While moderate drinking is generally safe, excessive consumption can increase your risk for a range of serious health problems. Previous studies have shown that men and women metabolize alcohol differently, even when drinking the same amount.
“Women can’t drink as much as men can,” Dr. James Burton, Jr., medical director of liver transplantation at University of Colorado Hospital on the Anschutz Medical Campus, told UCHealth. “Moderate drinking for a woman is one drink per day, whereas for a man, it could be considered two drinks a day.”
Even when women drink less than men, research suggests they’re more prone to alcohol’s harmful effects, including liver disease.
“Women’s bodies contain proportionately less water and more fat than men’s bodies,” Burton said. “Water dilutes alcohol, and fat retains it. Women also have less alcohol dehydrogenase, an enzyme that breaks down alcohol.”
While alcohol-related liver disease has typically been more common in men, the gap is narrowing, with young women driving an increase in deaths.
Treatment often includes abstinence, dietary changes, medication and, in severe cases, a liver transplant. Burton noted that the demographic for liver transplants has shifted in recent years from mostly men in their 50s and 60s to younger women and people under 40, especially following the pandemic.
“It’s a huge problem. About 80% of the transplant evaluations that we’re doing on a weekly basis are in younger and younger people with alcohol-associated hepatitis and cirrhosis from alcohol,” he said.
Across the country, the number of people needing liver transplants for alcohol-related reasons jumped from 4,087 in 2019 to 5,144 in 2021. The amount of men on the waiting list increased by 22%, while women’s listings surged by 35%, according to the Denver Post.
Survival rates post-transplant hover around 86% after one year, 78% after three years, and 72% after five years, though these outcomes depend on individual circumstances, according to government data.
On Wednesday, The Post broke the news that former child star Michelle Trachtenberg had died at the age of 39. While the cause of death remains unconfirmed, sources revealed that the “Gossip Girl” star underwent a liver transplant within the last year, and it’s possible that her body may have rejected the organ.
