Evolving trends in liver cirrhosis: etiology, complications and comorbidities

Background

The epidemiology of liver cirrhosis is evolving and the etiology, complications, and comorbidities of cirrhosis are continuously changing, presenting new challenges.

Methods

We reported data from an observational, monocentric study including 1,617 patients with liver cirrhosis admitted to our liver unit from January 2014 to December 2023.

Results

The mean age of patients was 66.8 years, with a male predominance except for autoimmune etiology. During the observation period, the number of hospitalized patients with active HCV infection decreased from 47.9% in 2014 to 9.2% in 2023, while patients with HCV cirrhosis in sustained virologic response (SVR) increased from 15.6% in 2014 to 26.2% in 2023. Hospitalizations for HBV-related cirrhosis remained stable (5.5% in 2014 and 8.5% in 2023. Patients for alcohol-related cirrhosis increased from 16.6% in 2014 to 23.9% 2023 and patients with metabolic cirrhosis increased from 10.6% in 2014 to 36.8% in 2023. The rate of patients with autoimmune cirrhosis (3.0% in 2014 and 4.2% in 2023) and cryptogenic cirrhosis (6.0% in 2014 to 7.9% in 2023) remained stable over the years. Patients with alcohol-related cirrhosis (mean age 59.5 years), HBV cirrhosis (62.1 years) and autoimmune etiologies (62.2 years) were younger than patients with HCV cirrhosis (69.3 years), metabolic cirrhosis (68.3 years) and cryptogenic cirrhosis (67.6 years). The most frequent complication for hospitalization was HCC in active (47.8%) and SVR (58.2%) HCV cirrhosis, and in HBV cirrhosis (47.3%), with the ascites was more frequent in alcohol-related (45.8%) and metabolic (34.1%) cirrhosis Patients with metabolic cirrhosis had the most extrahepatic comorbidities (66.3% diabetic, 18.0% chronic kidney disease, and 20.7% heart disease).

Conclusions

Liver cirrhosis epidemiology is changing, with decreasing HCV infections but increasing alcohol-related and metabolic cases. Complications and comorbidities require tailored management strategies. Effective public health interventions and adaptive healthcare approaches are crucial to address these evolving challenges.