Alcoholic liver cirrhosis, more than a simple hepatic disease - A brief review of the risk factors associated with alcohol abuse

Liver cirrhosis is a significant public health problem. being an important cause of mortality and morbidity. responsible for approximately 1.8% of the total number of deaths in Europe. Chronic alcohol consumption is the most common cause of liver cirrhosis in developed countries. Europe has the highest level of alcohol consumption among all the global World Health Organisation (WHO) regions. In this paper. we briefly review major factors leading to excessive alcohol consumption in order to draw attention to the fact that alcoholic liver cirrhosis is more than a simple liver disease, and if those risk/causal factors can be prevented. the incidence of this disease could be reduced greatly.Although excessive alcohol consumption is regarded as the cause of alcoholic liver cirrhosis. the etiology is complex. involving multiple factors that act in synchrony. and which. if prevented, could greatly reduce the incidence of this disease. Children of addicts are likely to develop an alcohol-related mental disorder: however, there is no "gene for alcoholism".