Cirrhosis of the Liver

Task 1: Choose a priority public health issue on which to focus, and identify risk factors that are associated with this issue

Our group decided to choose cirrhosis of the liver as our public health issue. The liver is the largest organ in the body and is needed to keep the body working correctly. Some of its primary functions are to clean the blood, make immune agents to fight and control infection, make the proteins that control blood clotting, and make bile to absorb fat and fat-soluble vitamins. Without a working liver the human body will die. Cirrhosis of the liver occurs when the normal, healthy tissue of the liver is changed into scar tissue. Having scar tissue in the liver will block the flow of blood going through the organ and prevent the liver from doing its job. Cirrhosis of the liver is the eighth leading cause of disease related death (Parker, Parker, and Icon Group International, Inc, 2002). It affects nearly 900,000 people in the United States and kills about 26,000 people each year. The cost of having cirrhosis of the liver is suffering and pain, hospital associated cost and not being able to work (“Measuring the Health Risks and Benefits of Alcohol”, n.d.).

There are many risk factors associated with cirrhosis of the liver. Two of the most common ones in the United States are alcoholism and hepatitis C. Others include Hepatitis B and D, Autoimmune hepatitis, inherited diseases, Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis (NASH), blocked bile ducts, and drugs, toxins and infections. (Parker, Parker, and Icon Group International, Inc, 2002).

Cirrhosis of the liver caused by alcoholism is different from person to person and usually occurs after many years of heavy drinking. 40 to 90 percent of people with cirrhosis of the liver have a history of alcohol abuse (“Measuring the Health Risks and Benefits of Alcohol”, n.d.). Alcohol damages the liver by blocking the normal breakdown of protein, fats and carbohydrates. Women who drink two to three...