Increased Prevalence of Alcohol-Related Gastrointestinal and Liver Diseases During the COVID-19 Pandemic.
R I Med J (2013)
; 105(10): 57-62, 2022 Dec 01.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-2125297
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
Higher prevalence of alcohol-related gastrointestinal (GI) and liver diseases (ARGLDs) were anecdotally reported during the COVID-19 pandemic, but little published evidence exists.METHODS:
A healthcare system audit of inpatient GI consults was performed during the pandemic's lockdown phase (3/23/2020-5/10/2020, n=558) and reopening phase (6/1/2020-7/19/2020, n=711) with comparison to those timeframes in 2019.RESULTS:
Consult volume decreased by 27.7% during the lockdown, but the proportion of ARGLDs increased by 59.6% (p=0.03). This trend continued during reopening, with potentially more severe disease as more patients required endoscopic intervention. Patients with alcoholic hepatitis during reopening were younger compared to the lockdown.CONCLUSIONS:
Our study demonstrates increased prevalence and severity of ARGLDs amongst younger individuals during the COVID-19 pandemic. This increase started during the lockdown but worsened despite relaxation of restrictions. Systems to increase screening for and treatment of alcohol use disorder as society recovers from the pandemic remain imperative.Keywords
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Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
COVID-19
/
Liver Diseases
Type of study:
Observational study
/
Prognostic study
Limits:
Humans
Language:
English
Journal:
R I Med J (2013)
Year:
2022
Document Type:
Article
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