HEPAHEALTH I Report Epidemiological and Risk Factors data
Description
The HEPAHEALTH project consists of three related reviews conducted to summarise the current epidemiological situation regarding liver disease in Europe ...to examine trends in risk factors associated with liver disease and identify potential interven-tions and policies which could be effective in reducing the burden of liver disease. Databases summarising the data collected were collated. This report first describes the data collected on the epidemiological burden of liver diseases in 35 European countries. The most up-to-date picture of the prevalence of and mortality from all liver diseases is presented, after which the contribution of categories of liver disease on the total burden by country is examined. The focus then shifts to on historical trends in mortality and prevalence data, by liver disease category, Introduction 24 in order to better understand current patterns in the epidemiological data. In the second review, the current and historical patterns in the main modifiable risk factors for liver disease are summarised: alcohol consumption, obesity and diabetes. The aim was to understand the association between these risk factors and liver disease by reviewing the literature and analysing collected data. Finally, this project reports on the recent evidence behind the main public health measures and policies for reducing the burden of liver disease, through interventions aimed at the main risk factors for liver disease. This report also contains several focus sections in which includes information on the limitations in data collection are discussed, as well as a summary of a qualitative interview study conducted on liver disease experts, in order to triangulate and supplement findings from the formal review of databases and the literature.