Yemen Observer: http://www.yobserver.com
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Sports, Health & Lifestyle
Written By: Thuria Ghaleb
Article Date: Apr 29, 2008 - 3:12:56 AM
Yemeni men are more likely to suffer from liver cirrhosis than women, according to a national study by a team of researchers at Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences at Sana’a University. The group performed the patients-based study to determine the number of liver cirrhotic cases among patients who were admitted to Al-Thawrah hospital during one year.
In many studies, women seem to be more vulnerable to liver damage than men. However, this study that depended on the patients’ files from January 2004 to December 2005, contradicts such fact among Yemeni patients.
“One of the most important obstacles we faced in conducting this study, there was no new update information of statistics in the hospital for the last two years [2006-2007]. So the study was done using the statistics of the period from 2004 to 2005,” said Dr. Ahmed al-Shaykh, one of the researchers. “The data, recorded in the patients’ files, are not enough and lack much important information about patients.”
A recent US study shows that there was one cirrhotic case among every 679 people, or 0.15 percent of the population. Therefore, there should be an estimated 29,500 Yemenis in 2004 with liver cirrhosis. The researchers estimate that most of those patients were males, according to the results of the study.
In cirrhosis of the liver, progressive scarring (fibrosis) of the liver causes scar tissue to replace normal liver tissue. The scar tissue damages the normal structure of the liver which affects the normal flow of blood through the liver. The liver itself becomes distorted, hardened and lumpy. Without a good blood flow the liver can’t work as it should and its normal functions are impaired.
Cirrhosis is a potentially life-threatening condition that causes liver failure. It is always caused by long-term liver diseases that damage liver tissue. It can take many years for liver damage to lead to cirrhosis, and then it can take many years for cirrhosis to lead to liver failure. This is because the liver can function adequately with some damage, and it can even repair itself by replacing injured cells. Yet over time, if the underlying disease is not controlled, cirrhosis begins.
Cirrhosis is the third most common cause of death after heart disorders and cancer among people. The study found that 47 cases of all patients (61,719) admitted to the hospital during one year were suffering from liver cirrhosis.
Chronic hepatitis B is the most common cause of cirrhosis of the liver in the study’s patients, causing 30 percent of affected cases.
Cirrhosis also may result from other chronic viral hepatitis (types C and D or liver injury, as well as caused by a number of inherited diseases.
However, the common possible cause among Yemeni patients was chronic chemical hepatitis due to pesticides resulting from chewing qat, affecting around 28 percent according to the study.
Patients, ranging between 40 to 59 years old, were more prone to be affected with liver cirrhosis than other patients’ age groups. The study found that 51 percent of these cirrhotics were belonging to the middle age group.
People who are working in farming represented the highest rate, 28 percent, of people suffering from liver cirrhosis because they are exposed to many toxins from different sprayed pesticides in cultivating plants and qat trees.
In other parts of the world, excessive and prolonged alcohol use is the most encouraging factor, leading people to suffer liver cirrhosis, but it represented a very low rate among causes which affect the study’s patients in Yemen.
According to the study, 50 percent of patients were found living in the capital where the hospital is located, while others came from nine other governorates.
People with cirrhosis often have few symptoms at first. The two major problems that eventually cause symptoms are loss of functioning liver cells and distortion of the liver caused by scarring. The person may experience fatigue, weakness, and exhaustion. Loss of appetite is usual, often with nausea and weight loss.
In the later stages of cirrhosis, jaundice may occur, caused by the buildup of bile pigment, often in the eyes, that is passed by the liver into the intestine. Some people with cirrhosis experience itching due to bile products that are deposited in the skin. Gallstones also often form in persons with cirrhosis because not enough bile reaches the gallbladder.
Later stages may develop fluid retention in the abdomen which may be complicated by infections.
The liver is the one of the largest organs in the body and is a very important organ to keep the body functioning properly. It is involved in the processing of nutrients, fats, and poisons or toxins that find their way into the body, as well as hormones and medications. It also controls blood clotting and produces proteins. With such an important role, cirrhosis of the liver can affect the functioning of the entire body.
The goals of treatment are to stop or slow the progress of cirrhosis in order to prevent further liver damage and address the consequences of cirrhosis, which can be disabling or life-threatening. Specific medicines and surgical procedures may be required to treat the underlying cause of cirrhosis and its complications.
The study, supervised by Prof. Ahmed al-Haddad, the Head of the Community Medicine Department, and Prof. Mohammed Salim, mainly recommended immunizing doctors, health workers and others who are working in facilities at high risk of developing hepatitis B infection.
It also insisted on improving data and facilitating work of researchers by performing other studies about liver cirrhosis in Yemen and other studies to identify the risk factors in the different Yemeni governorates that record high prevalence rates.
The study was conducted by Maher al-Du’ays, Mu’taz Abdul-Baqi, Waleed Abdul-Raouf, Zuhdi Saif, Anwer Hussain, Ahmed al-Sharafi, Khalid al-Olofi, Fouad al-Ahdal, Ahmed al-Shaykh and Omar al-Bakeri.