Alcohol, excess body fat and viral hepatitis (mainly hepatitis B and C) account for around 90 per cent of liver disease causes. The vast majority of cases are alcohol related, but non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is increasing and is likely to become the leading cause of end-stage liver disease and liver transplantation over the next decade.^2,3,5

^{This trio of causes – alcohol, calorie overconsumption, and hepatitis infection (due to sharing} contaminated needles in substance misuse, sexual transmission, ingestion or injury) – means most liver disease could be prevented through lifestyle or behavioural interventions.⁶

Other primary causes of liver disease include genetic factors such as haemochromatosis where the body’s iron levels build up over many years, or autoimmune disease, for example in primary biliary cirrhosis. This results from long-term inflammation damaging bile ducts in the liver.^7,8

Around 6,200 new cases of liver cancer occur each year in the UK, with 5,800 deaths: only around 12-13 per cent survive five years or more. Age and genetics are important factors, but ‘lifestyle’ factors are behind around half of liver cancer cases. Excess bodyweight is involved in around 23 per cent of cases, followed by smoking (20 per cent), infections (10 per cent), and alcohol (7 per cent). Exposure to workplace carcinogens accounts for under 1 per cent of liver cancer.⁹