Increasing trend in metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease-related mortality steeper than that for alcohol-related liver disease mortality<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n
By Elana Gotkine HealthDay Reporter<\/b>
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THURSDAY, May 8, 2025 (HealthDay News) — Distinct trends were seen in etiology-based mortality with chronic liver disease (CLD) before, during, and after the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a research letter published online April 29 in the Annals of Internal Medicine<\/em>.<\/p>\n Donghee Kim, M.D., Ph.D., from the Stanford University School of Medicine in California, and colleagues estimated mortality trends for etiology-based CLD in the United States before, during, and after the COVID-19 pandemic (2015 to 2023). CLD deaths were analyzed in persons aged 25 years and older to explore mortality trends for alcohol-related liver disease (ALD)-, hepatitis C virus (HCV)-, and metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD)-related mortality.<\/p>\n The researchers found that quarterly age-standardized ALD-related mortality increased before the pandemic (quarterly percentage change [QPC], 0.9 percent), then increased sharply during the early pandemic period, with a QPC increase of 9.1 percent. There was a subsequent decline, with a QPC of \u22121.4 percent. Before the pandemic, there was a steady increase in quarterly age-standardized MASLD-related mortality (QPC, 2.5 percent), which accelerated during the early pandemic period (QPC, 7.8 percent). Before the pandemic, quarterly age-standardized HCV-related mortality declined steadily (QPC, \u22122.5 percent), then remained relatively stable during the early pandemic period, followed by a further decrease in the late pandemic period (QPC, \u22123.0 percent). The increasing trend in MASLD-related mortality was steeper than that of ALD-related mortality (average QPC, 2.1 versus 1.0 percent).<\/p>\n “This study emphasizes the importance of establishing clinical pathways that provide uninterrupted care to persons with CLD during a future pandemic or other public health crises,” the authors write.<\/p>\n