‘45 percent of Kerala drinkers face liver disease threat’
August 11th, 2011 - 9:24 pm ICT by IANSThiruvananthapuram, Aug 11 (IANS) With liquor consumption reaching an all-time high in Kerala, up to 45 percent of the regular drinkers face the risk of ending up with some liver disease, an expert said Thursday.
Revealing that at least three new patients suffering alcohol-related liver disease come to him every day, Dr D.Jayakumar of the NIMS Hospital said: “The sad part is that in a few years time from now, those carrying an alcohol related liver disease in the age group 37 to 45 in the state will go up drastically, given the present trend.”
“This could entail 30 to 45 percent of drinkers in Kerala,” he added, while announcing the setting up of the first ever fibro scan - a machine to scan for liver diseases - at the hospital.
“Seeing the spurt in alcohol-related liver disease of patients, we are getting ready to conduct a detailed study and the pilot study would be done very soon,” said Jayakumar, who has been trained at the Queen’s Hospital in London.
In the last fiscal 2010-11, liquor sales in the state touched an all-time high at Rs.6,730.30 crore, up from Rs.5,539.85 crore in 2009-10.
Currently, there are 683 bars in the state and 383 state owned shops that sell liquor in the retail market.
NIMS will be the eighth hospital in India, and the first in South India, to have the state of the art fibro machine.
“The new machine will identify liver ailments in less than five minutes and it is a non-invasive mechanism (not requiring surgery) unlike the standard liver biopsy test which is an invasive process. This new scan will cost Rs.4,500 per patient, which is cheaper than the conventional liver biopsy test,” added Jayakumar.
- Liver ailments rise in Kerala - Dec 21, 2011
- Kerala hospital introduces new diagnostic tool - Jan 11, 2012
- Liquor sales in Kerala reach 'dizzy heights' - Apr 16, 2011
- We're in dire straits: Kerala distilleries - Aug 19, 2011
- Chandy asks liquor firms not to stop supplies - Aug 24, 2011
- Kerala's move to open more bars opposed - Jun 19, 2011
- Genetic variation linked to liver cirrhosis in alcoholic Caucasians identified - Dec 17, 2010
- Kerala film stars to campaign against liquor - Jun 07, 2011
- Kerala to cap drinking, raise age bar for buying liquor - Jul 21, 2011
- Mammootty vows to boycott liquor in films - Sep 15, 2011
- Alcohol killing 20-year-olds in Britain - Aug 01, 2011
- Kerala local bodies can give licence for liquor shops - Dec 01, 2011
- Kerala government says no to new liquor vends - May 27, 2011
- Peg or two lowers risk of liver disease - Apr 23, 2012
- Increasing taxes on alcoholic beverages cuts disease, crime, death rates - Sep 24, 2010
Tags: age group, alcohol, biopsy test, crore, disease threat, five minutes, jayakumar, liquor consumption, liquor sales, liver ailments, liver biopsy, liver disease, liver diseases, pilot study, retail market, rs 6, s hospital, south india, spurt, state of the art