Need for Liver Transplants Due to Alcohol Use Spiked During COVID-19 Pandemic

Heavy alcohol use during the pandemic was linked to a rise in waiting list registrations and transplants due to alcohol-related hepatitis

December 13, 2021 • By Sukanya Charuchandra, Hep Magazine

Liver transplants and waiting list registrations due to alcohol-related liver disease (ALD) increased during the COVID-19 pandemic in association with a rise in retail alcohol sales, according to study results published in JAMA Network Open.
Alcohol drinking has soared during the pandemic. Alcohol-related liver disease, driven by excessive alcohol consumption, can lead to cirrhosis, liver cancer and liver failure. Maia Anderson, MD, of Michigan Medicine, and colleagues looked at national changes in the number of people with ALD who were put on a waiting list or received a transplant and the potential links to alcohol sales in recent years.

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