What The Study Did: Researchers report waiting list registrations and deceased donor liver transplants in the U.S. for alcoholic hepatitis, which can develop after a short period of alcohol misuse, increased during COVID-19, exceeding volumes forecasted by pre-COVID-19 trends, while trends for alcohol-related cirrhosis and non-alcohol-associated liver disease remained unchanged. The study cannot confirm causality but this disproportionate increase in association with increasing alcohol sales may indicate a relationship with known increases in alcohol misuse during COVID-19.
Authors: Jessica L. Mellinger, M.D., M.Sc., of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, is the corresponding author.
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(doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2021.31132)
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Journal
JAMA Network Open