In NAFLD, fat builds up in the liver and eventually causes cirrhosis. Hepatitis D is another virus that infects the liver and can lead to cirrhosis, but it occurs only in people who already have hepatitis B. The hepatitis B vaccine is given to all infants and many adults to prevent the virus. Hepatitis B, like hepatitis C, causes liver inflammation and injury that can lead to cirrhosis. The hepatitis B virus is a liver infection that is spread by contact with an infected person's blood, semen, or other body fluid. Chronic hepatitis C causes inflammation and damage to the liver over time that can lead to cirrhosis. The hepatitis C virus is a liver infection that is spread by contact with an infected person's blood. Deaths caused by obesity-related cirrhosis are increasing. In the past, alcohol-related cirrhosis led to more deaths than cirrhosis due to any other cause. For women, consuming two to three drinks-including beer and wine-per day and for men, three to four drinks per day, can lead to liver damage and cirrhosis. The amount of alcohol it takes to damage the liver varies greatly from person to person. But heavy alcohol use over several years can cause chronic injury to the liver. Most people who consume alcohol do not suffer damage to the liver. Usually years of chronic injury are required to cause cirrhosis.īy BruceBlaus (Own work), via Wikimedia Commons Common Causes of Cirrhosis Alcohol-related liver disease. Many people with cirrhosis have more than one cause of liver damage.Ĭirrhosis is not caused by trauma to the liver or other acute, or short-term, causes of damage. Obesity is becoming a common cause of cirrhosis, either as the sole cause or in combination with alcohol, hepatitis C, or both. In the United States, heavy alcohol consumption and chronic hepatitis C have been the most common causes of cirrhosis. These are more fully explored in the next section.Ĭirrhosis has numerous causes. Some common causes are heavy drinking, viruses, a buildup of fat in the liver, inherited diseases, toxic effects from drugs and autoimmune diseases. This is called cirrhosis, and usually this damage cannot be undone.Īny illness that affects the liver over a long period of time may lead to fibrosis and, eventually cirrhosis. When the whole liver is scarred, it shrinks and gets hard. This scarring process is called fibrosis (pronounced 'fi-bro-sis'), and it happens little by little over many years. When a substance or disease attacks and damages the liver, liver cells are killed and scar tissue is formed. Patients with ESLD have a constellation of symptoms and disease-related complications that affect survival and health-related quality of life. While liver transplantation is a viable treatment option for ESLD, with increasing waiting times for organ transplantation, nearly 17% of patients on the transplant wait list die annually others are not candidates for a liver transplant. Most often, chronic liver failure is the result of cirrhosis, a condition in which scar tissue replaces healthy liver tissue until the liver cannot function adequately. Patients with abnormal liver function who develop ascites, variceal hemorrhage, hepatic encephalopathy, or renal impairment are considered to have end-stage liver disease (ESLD). Chronic liver failure, also called end-stage liver disease, progresses over months, years, or decades.

Meld score mortality