Financial implication of liver disease
The British Liver Trust works closely with the Foundation for Liver Research and the Lancet Commission on promoting the financial case for action on liver disease. This report summarises the escalating financial costs to the health and care system as well as the wider societal costs related to the three lifestyle-related risk factors (alcohol, obesity and viral hepatitis).
Commenting on the report, Andrew Langford, Chief Executive of the British Liver Trust said,
“The increases in obesity and in the numbers of us who are regularly drinking too much alcohol have resulted in a 400% increase in liver disease since the 1970s. At the moment, three out of four people with liver conditions are diagnosed as an emergency in a hospital setting. By this time the scope for intervention is both limited and costly. Unless we urgently address this and improve prevention and early detection the financial burden of liver disease will continue to grow at an alarming rate and the human cost and numbers of deaths will escalate.”
“The British Liver Trust urges everyone to take their online screening test to find out if they are at risk of liver disease: www.britishlivertrust.org.uk/screener”
Executive summary - Financial case for action on liver disease