NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Deaths from liver disease have risen sharply in recent years in the United States, according to a recent medical study.
The study was conducted by researchers led by Elliot Taber, a liver specialist at the University of Michigan, and published in the British Medical Journal.
Deaths associated with liver cirrhosis increased 65 percent from 1999 to 2016, the study said.
Liver cancer deaths have also doubled. The report said high mortality rates were mostly driven by alcohol-related diseases.
"If people stop drinking alcohol, there is an excellent opportunity to repair the liver itself," he said, adding that the problem was that "we do not yet have an effective treatment for alcoholism."