Open AccessPrevalence of Alcoholic Liver Disease in Port Harcourt, Rivers State
Author(s) -
Michael Ikechukwu Ogamba,
Adekemi Kiyesi,
Chisom Adaobi Nri-Ezedi,
Lukman Shittu
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
journal of complementary and alternative medical research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2456-6276
DOI - 10.9734/jocamr/2021/v16i130280
Subject(s) - port harcourt , medicine , disease , referral , liver disease , incidence (geometry) , population , alcoholic liver disease , environmental health , health care , cross sectional study , demography , pediatrics , family medicine , pathology , cirrhosis , physics , socioeconomics , sociology , optics , economics , economic growth
Alcoholic liver disease is a severe liver disease that affects substantial number of people in different parts of the world. However, there is low level of awareness regarding the disease and poor knowledge of the risk factors. The present study aimed to determine the prevalence of alcoholic liver disease among the residents of Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria, as this will both provide a clear picture of the incidence, as well as, aiding the diagnosis and management of the disease and distinguish it from other forms of liver impairment. This cross-sectional, descriptive study was conducted in the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital; a tertiary health facility serving treatment, teaching, health research and referral purposes for primary and secondary health care facilities within Rivers State and its adjoining states. The relationship between gender and age to the assayed parameters were investigated, shows that age (0.793) and sex (0.591) were not statistically significant for the circulating level of aspartate, with age (0.000) significant and sex (0.217) non-significant for alanine amino transaminase, while age (0.830) and sex (1.52) were not statistically significant for gamma T. the prevalence of liver disease is low (8.1%) in the population and this may be attributed to factors such as poor healthcare-seeking attitude among the residents and effective diagnostic tools to detect the anomaly in the liver, especially, at the earliest stages of the disease condition.