Most 'worried well' groups at risk of liver disease

YorkTestNov 25 2010

Growing groups of the so-called "worried well" are putting their lives at risk by shunning visits to their GP over alcoholic health related matters, according to new evidence.

The study, which appears in Hepatology, based its findings on 1039 UK subjects (561 female/478 male) who took a LiverCheck home liver function test and showed that 73% would not consider going to their GP concerning their liver health, revealing the extent to which people are putting themselves at risk from liver disease.

Luckily LiverCheck, the UK's only home-to-lab blood testing kit, is able to help. The test, which is available from YorkTest Laboratories, can test for levels of the two enzymes, alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST), which if found in high levels in the blood stream have been shown to increase higher risk of mortality.

Rajiv Jalan, Professor of Hepatology at University College London and co-author of the article says:

"This data confirms the medical importance of ALT and AST as a marker for premature mortality as a consequence of liver disease. Due to the nature of the illness, the symptoms only appear when irreversible damage has been done so a screening procedure to detect the early signs of liver damage is essential. A GP is always your first port of call but for some a self test does have a vital role to play in saving lives."

Further findings from the study also paint a worrying picture of the UK's current drinking habits with 44% admitting they drink alcohol on a daily basis. 26% also admitted they regularly consumed more than twice the government guidelines on safe drinking and with Christmas and New Year fast approaching it is thought that this figure could double.

It is hoped with the easy to use LiverCheck that people are able to understand their liver health helping to address a potentially life threatening problem which previously had been unavailable to thousands of people adversely affected by alcohol consumption.

The LiverCheck Liver Function Test is currently available from YorkTest for 99 pounds. YorkTest are based in York, West Yorkshire and specialise in home laboratory tests including food intolerance testing, allergy testing, homocysteine tests, and more. For more information visit www.yorktest.com.