Double the death rate from cirrhosis for 'blue collar' menMay 10, 2007School of Population Health Professors Jake Najman and Gail Williams and Stockholm University's Professor Robin Room examined death rates among Australian men from liver cirrhosis between 1981 and 2002. Their results were published in the May 2007 edition of the prestigious journal, Drug and Alcohol Review. The men were categorised according to whether they were manual or non-manual workers. Manual worker status is a marker for lower socio-economic status (SES). Heavy or binge drinking is one of the main contributors to the development of liver cirrhosis. Professor Najman said the study results suggested that men from lower socio-economic backgrounds were in greater danger of liver cirrhoses because of their heavy and binge drinking. Liver cirrhosis accounted for 3.3 percent of all deaths among men aged between 15 and 64 in Australia in 2002 (543) and is the 10th largest overall killer of men. Cirrhosis is believed to develop in about 15 percent of people who drink heavily for more than a decade - three to four drinks a day for men and two to three drinks a day for women. "Lower socio-economic groups appear to have increased their harmful alcohol consumption relative to middle and higher SES groups. This may be due to the increased affordability and availability of alcohol," Professor Najman said. "In Australia, alcohol has become relatively cheaper and more available. "It is already known that socio-economic inequalities in alcohol-related diseases are among the largest of any cause of death. For example, in Britain, between 1991 and 1993, liver cirrhosis rates among unskilled workers were about four times those experienced by professionals. "The very low tax on wine means cask wine is often the beverage of choice for the poorest and most marginalised people." The study's findings dovetail with another paper recently published in the Bulletin of the World Health Organisation by Professor Najman and co-authors, Dr Ghasem Toloo and Dr Victor Siskind, urging the need for more healthy-living programs targeted at the socioeconomically disadvantaged. Professor Najman said reducing tobacco use and excessive alcohol consumption among the most socioeconomically disadvantaged should be an urgent national priority. Research Australia |
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| Related Cirrhosis Current Events and Cirrhosis News Articles Toward explaining why hepatitis B hits men harder than women Scientists in China are reporting discovery of unusual liver proteins, found only in males, that may help explain the long-standing mystery of why the hepatitis B virus (HBV) sexually discriminates -- hitting men harder than women. Unexplained liver hemorrhage after metastasis radiofrequency ablation Colorectal carcinoma is one of the most common cancers in the world. Approximately one in four of these patients have metastases at diagnosis, liver being the most common site involved. The use of stem cells in regenerative medicine may also be detrimental for health The use of stem cells in regenerative medicine is not always beneficial for human health, it may even be harmful according to a work done by the University of Granada and University of León. Scientists have demonstrated that transplantation of human mononuclear cells isolated from umbilical cord blood exerted a deleterious effect in rats with liver cirrhosis. Alcohol Tolerance Switch Found in Fruit Flies Researchers at North Carolina State University have found a genetic "switch" in fruit flies that plays an important role in making flies more tolerant to alcohol. UCSD researchers pave the way for effective liver treatments A combination of bioengineering and medical research at the University of California, San Diego has led to a new discovery that could pave the way for more effective treatments for liver disease. Discovery could improve hepatitis C treatment Walter and Eliza Hall Institute researchers are part of an international team that has discovered a genetic variation that could identify those people infected with hepatitis C who are most likely to benefit from current treatments. What are the risk factors for rebleeding after negative angiography? Acute non-variceal gastrointestinal bleeding accounts for approximately 20% of emergency room visits and 5% of admissions. HBV genotype B/B3 and C/C1 are the major genotypes in Indonesia? Previous studies revealed that HBV genotypes as well as mutations in the core promoter, precore or HBx gene have been shown to have an association with the clinical outcome of liver disease, however, this is still controversial. Is endotoxin receptor CD14 rs2569190/C-159T gene correlated with chronic hepatitis C? It is still unknown why the natural history of chronic disease caused by hepatitis C virus (HCV), which currently infects 3% of the world's population, varies from mild in some patients to rapidly progressing in others. Hepatitis C virus channels efforts into cell survival Researchers at the University of Leeds have discovered a previously unknown mechanism that allows the hepatitis C virus (HCV) to remain in the body for decades. More Cirrhosis Current Events and Cirrhosis News Articles |
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