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Introduction

Alcohol-associated liver disease (ALD) is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in people with alcohol use disorder (AUD).¹ Alcohol exerts its effect on the liver through both direct and indirect pathways and can eventually lead to steatosis, steatohepatitis, fibrosis, hepatocellular carcinoma, and cirrhosis.² However, only approximately 10% to 20% of patients with ALD develop...

Introduction

Alcohol misuse is the most common form of substance misuse and is associated with liver, cardiovascular, and metabolic diseases as well as with infections and cancers.¹ Although an estimated 20% to 25% of people who drink heavily develop alcohol-related liver disease,² 40% to 60% of people with alcohol misuse have alcohol-related myopathy.³ Evidence that alcohol use leads to skeletal...

Introduction

Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is prevalent worldwide, and the burden of heavy alcohol consumption has been increasing over time. An important complication of prolonged, heavy alcohol use is alcohol-associated liver disease (ALD), which can progress from liver steatosis to fibrosis and cirrhosis and frequently involves alcohol-associated hepatitis. In particular, cirrhosis—the most...

Introduction

Chronic pain increases the risk for development of alcohol use disorder (AUD). Given that acute alcohol consumption can reduce pain, humans sometimes drink alcohol for relief of pain. Chronic alcohol consumption, however, can increase pain sensitivity during withdrawal and facilitate pain sensitization related to comorbid pain conditions.¹ Ascending and descending nociceptive...

Introduction

The prevalence of alcohol use disorder has been steadily rising around the world in recent years, and reducing the burden of alcohol-associated liver disease (ALD) caused by chronic alcohol consumption has become one of the most important global health issues.^1,2 Excessive alcohol drinking (more than 40 g of pure alcohol per day) is closely associated with increased risk of all-cause...

Introduction

A vast body of evidence from human studies and animal research clearly indicates that chronic, heavy alcohol consumption causes structural damage and/or disrupts normal organ function in virtually every tissue of the body. In heavy consumers of alcohol, the liver is especially susceptible to alcohol-induced injury.^1,2 Additionally, several other organs—including the gastrointestinal...

Over the past century, differences in alcohol use and related harms between males and females in the United States have diminished considerably. In general, males still consume more alcohol and experience and cause more alcohol-related injuries and deaths than females do, but the gaps are narrowing. Among adolescents and emerging adults, gaps in drinking have narrowed primarily because alcohol use...

There has been a global increase in alcohol misuse and rates of alcohol use disorder (AUD) over the last two decades. Recent substantial increases in the United States come from dramatic rises in the prevalence of alcohol misuse and AUD in women relative to men (women, 84% increase; men, 35% increase).

Alcohol-related liver disease generally has been ascribed to men because men reportedly consume alcohol at an increased rate and quantity as compared to women. Recent literature has reported, however, that rates of liver disease attributed to alcohol use by women have increased, largely due, in part, to the increased number of women who consume alcohol regularly. This increase is a paramount...

Alcohol misuse is the fifth-leading risk factor for premature death and disability worldwide, and, adjusting for age, alcohol is the leading risk factor for mortality and the overall burden of disease in the 15 to 59 age group. According to the World Health Organization, in 2004, 4.5% of the global burden of disease and injury was attributable to alcohol: 7.4% for men and 1.4% for women.