Liver Disease Patients Struggle with Healthy Habits During the Covid-19 Pandemic, Data Show

Nutrition and lifestyle are considered the most important factors for liver health. However, when the Covid-19 pandemic disrupted our daily lives, liver disease patients experienced a downturn in their healthy habits. Amsety´s analysis shows that the diet and lifestyle habits of liver disease patients have significantly worsened since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Although the magnitude and urgency of the Covid-19 pandemic have overshadowed other public health issues, it did not make them less important. While the focus has shifted to battling Covid-19, the number of people with liver conditions continued growing with now around 100 million Americans being affected.

To understand the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the dietary and lifestyle habits of liver disease patients, Amsety—the first liver health nutrition company in the U.S.—has analyzed the data of the Liver Health Score. The Liver Health Score is an online questionnaire that measures how liver-healthy one´s lifestyle and diet are.

The data revealed significant declines in those aspects of liver disease patients´ lifestyle that are considered crucial for liver health—such as abstaining from alcohol, consuming foods low in fat, sugar, and salt.

More Harmful Food, Less Greens, and Fewer Medical Check-Ups

Overall, 21% more liver disease patients eat harmful foods high in sugar and sodium since the beginning of the pandemic. 46% less liver disease patients now regularly consume fruit and vegetables, and 46% more respondents eat salty snacks throughout the day. In comparison to the pre-pandemic numbers, 39% more people consume fast food for most meals, 29% more liver patients eat sweets every day, and 25% more people increased their alcohol consumption. Also, 21% less people drink enough water throughout the day now than before the pandemic. Importantly, Amsety´s analysis has also revealed that 61% stopped visiting the doctor regularly.

Unhealthy dietary and lifestyle habits are considered one of the main causes of fatty liver disease. In fact, 97% of liver health experts rank nutrition as the number one factor for liver health (Source: Amsety survey at the Liver Meeting of The American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases).

For many liver disease patients, maintaining a healthy diet and lifestyle is a way to manage their disease and prevent further complications. Long-term disruptions in healthy habits can cause disease progression and a surge of liver disease cases overall across the country.

"The Covid-19 pandemic has only amplified the importance of a healthy lifestyle for vulnerable populations. We will see the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on other diseases for years to come," says Dr. Tarek Hassanein of Southern California GI & Liver Centers.

The Liver Health Score is a free, science-based, online tool created to raise awareness on a liver-healthy lifestyle:  www.amsety.com/my-liver-health-score/.

About Amsety

Amsety was founded to improve the lives of individuals with liver conditions by delivering liver-healthy, nutritional solutions and raising awareness on liver health. The company created the Amsety Bar—U.S. first nutrition bar to support liver health and the Liver Health Score—a science-based, online tool that measures the liver-healthiness of an individual´s lifestyle. More at www.amsety.com.

About Southern California GI & Liver Centers

Southern California GI & Liver Centers (SCLC) are California's leading private centers for the management of GI and liver diseases. SCLC providers come from academic medicine, having taught GI and Liver disease to generations of young physicians. SCLC provide services in Viral Hepatitis, Gastroenterology, Fatty Liver Disease, Alcoholic Hepatitis, and Liver Transplantation. More at www.livercenters.com.

SOURCE Amsety