Liver
Long-term effects of alcohol use
Chronic heavy alcohol use can damage the liver,
causing alcoholic liver disease. This occurs across
a spectrum from fatty liver, to acute alcoholic
hepatitis, to cirrhosis.[1]
Fatty liver, where fat builds up in the liver cells, is very
common in heavy drinkers and is reversible if drinking
is reduced. However, a small percentage of people with
fatty liver will develop alcoholic hepatitis, cirrhosis
or liver cancer.
Alcoholic hepatitis develops in 10 to 35 percent of
heavy drinkers and is an acute injury to the liver
which can present with symptoms of feeling unwell,
tiredness, jaundice (yellow skin and whites of eyes),
swollen stomach and enlarged, tender liver. Death
from liver failure can occur in severe cases.
Cirrhosis of the liver develops in 5 to 15 percent of
heavy drinkers and is where the liver is permanently
damaged and cells are replaced by scar tissue, so the
liver can no longer function (to detoxify the body,
make vital proteins, store vitamins and sugars,
and make chemicals necessary for digestion).
Cirrhosis can also lead to death from liver failure.
Treatment for alcoholic liver disease must include
stopping the drinking of alcohol. Alcohol also causes
liver cancer, and treatment options are often limited
if alcoholic liver disease is present or the cancer has
spread widely by the time of diagnosis. This means
liver cancer is often quickly fatal