El Pasoans have highest rate of liver disease in the nation
According to a recent medical study, El Pasoans have the highest rate of liver disease and liver cancer in the nation.
The study also shows liver disease is on the rise nationally, especially among young adults.
ABC-7 talked with Dr. Richard Guerrero, a liver specialist at Del Sol Medical Center.
He said a major cause of the rising rates of liver disease is Fatty Liver, a non-alcoholic liver disease.
“This is a condition where the liver gets fatty, as the name implies,” Guerrero said. “And it causes a chronic inflammation that can lead to cirrhosis.”
Fatty liver occurs when deposits of fat enter the liver, causing it to enlarge. If it is not treated, this enlargement can create scar tissue, causing liver fibrosis. As the scar tissue forms, connective tissue can begin to grow, destroying the liver cells and causing cirrhosis.
Fatty liver is caused by Type 2 Diabetes, obesity and high cholesterol, all things that are common in the El Paso region. However, Dr. Guerrero thinks demographics might play a role in the liver disease rate as well.
“It turns out also that there may be a genetic component,” he said. “Hispanics tend to be affected more than other ethnicities with fatty liver.”
The best thing people can do to avoid liver disease, or combat it if they already have it, is to change their diet and increase the amount they exercise.
