More than 100 million people in the U.S. have some form of liver disease. 4.5 million U.S. adults (1.8%) have been diagnosed with liver disease. But it is estimated that 80-100 million adults in the U.S. have fatty liver disease and many do not know they have it.
Left untreated, liver disease can lead to liver failure and liver cancer.
In 2020, 51,642 adults in the U.S. died from liver disease (15.7 per 100,000 population).
Chronic liver disease/cirrhosis was the 12th leading cause of death in the U.S in 2020.
In 2019, chronic liver disease was the 8th leading cause of death for non-Hispanic African American/Black people aged 45–64 years old.
A 2016 study compared general liver disease/cirrhosis prevalence rates by racial/ethnic categories, as follows: Japanese Americans (6.9%); Hispanic/Latino persons (6.7%); White persons (4.1%); African American/Black and Native Hawaiian persons (3.9%).
- In that study, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) was the most common cause of liver disease/cirrhosis among all groups. The most common causes of cirrhosis by ethnicity were: NAFLD in Japanese American, Native Hawaiian, and Hispanic/Latino persons; alcoholic liver disease (ALD) in White persons; and hepatitis C in African American/Black persons.
Cirrhosis is a long-term liver disease. Cirrhosis is scarring of the liver, when scar tissue replaces healthy tissue, causing damage and reducing the liver’s functioning. Cirrhosis is most often caused by: hepatitis and other viruses; long-term alcohol abuse; and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).
Risk factors for liver disease include: heavy alcohol use; obesity; type 2 diabetes; tattoos or body piercings; injecting drugs using shared needles; had a blood transfusion before 1992; exposure to other people's blood and body fluids; unprotected sex; exposure to certain chemicals or toxins; and family history of liver disease.
Cirrhosis increases the risk for stroke. Stroke incidence was 2.17% (95% CI, 1.99%-2.36%) per year in patients with cirrhosis and 1.11% (95% CI, 1.10%-1.11%) per year in patients without cirrhosis.
Rates of liver cirrhosis deaths have been consistently higher for Black/African American men and women than their White counterparts since the 1950s.

Last updated on September 11th, 2023 at 04:16 pm

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