Staid lifestyle can damage liver

BANGALORE: Drinking alone doesn't cause liver damage. Long working hours and sedentary lifestyle are harmful too.
Apart from Hepatitis B or C, Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver disease caused by static lifestyle is becoming common in cities, liver surgeon AS Soin said here on Sunday. He is credited with having preformed India's first successful cadaveric liver transplant in November 1998.
Soin will be visiting Bangalore once a month to treat patients and conduct liver transplant surgeries at Columbia Asia Hospital. The hospital has tied up with the surgeon to use his expertise at the liver transplant facility which was launched on Sunday.
"This city is home to techies who lead a sedentary lifestyle. The need for liver transplants is high in Karnataka (1,000 in 4-crore population ) and there have been only 10 to 12 successful ones in the last year.
The doctor said people suffering from diabetes, hypertension, hypothyroid and obesity are susceptible to Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver disease . '' Worse, most victims are unaware of it till almost 50% of the liver is damaged,'' he told TOI.
An expensive procedure, liver transplants are equally elaborate and technical. '' The biggest challenge is trained manpower, equipment and infrastructure requirements at any standard healthcare centre,'' said Soin, who is chairman of Medanta Institute of Liver Transplantation and Regenerative Medicine, New Delhi.
'' Unfortunately, the symptoms start getting manifested only after 50% of the liver is damaged,'' said Dr Sunil Rao, general manager of Columbia Asia Referral Hospital, Yeshwantpur.
Alarming Numbers
4% in the country are affected with Hepatitis B 2% suffer from Hepatitis C 4-6 % male adults in India have alcoholic liver disease 10-12 % are diagnosed with Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease 10-15 % eventually develop liver failure
Preventive Measures
Hepatitis B: Vaccination
Hepatitis C: Ensure proper blood transfusion, avoid sexual contact with those affected with the disease.
Non-Fatty Acid Liver disease: No junk food, regular exercise, less or no alcohol consumption, lifestyle changes.