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What is Chronic Liver Disease?
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), chronic liver disease includes health problems that affect the liver over time. The liver is your body’s largest internal organ. It lies up under your ribs on the right side of your belly. The liver does many important things including removing waste from the body, such as toxins and medicines, makes bile to help digest food, stores sugar that the body uses for energy, and make new proteins. Liver disease affects the way the liver functions.
How Does Chronic Live Disease Affect African American Populations?
Chronic liver disease is a problem in the African American population. While the cause of chronic liver disease is not always known, some cases can be initiated by conditions such as chronic alcoholism and exposure to hepatitis B and C viruses.
Cancer Incidence Rates per 100,000 – Men
Cancer
Non-Hispanic Black Men
Non-Hispanic White Men
Non-Hispanic Black/Non-Hispanic White Ratio
All Sites
535.1
514.8
1.0
Liver & IBD
18.1
11.3
1.6
*IBD = Intrahepatic Bile Duct
Source: NCI 2022. Seer Cancer Statistics Review, 2015-2019. SEER*Explorer [https://seer.cancer.gov/explorer/ [Accessed 11/30/2022].
Cancer Incidence Rates per 100,000 – Women
Non-Hispanic Black Women
Non-Hispanic White Women
408.7
450.8
0.9
5.5
4.1
1.3
Source: NCI 2022. Seer Cancer Statistics Review, 2015-2019. SEER*Explorer https://seer.cancer.gov/explorer/ [Accessed 11/30/2022].
Age-adjusted percentage of persons 18 years of age and over who have been told by a doctor that they have chronic liver disease, 2018**
Non-Hispanic Black
Non-Hispanic White
1.1
0.7
**NOTE: This is the most recent national data available currently.
Source: CDC 2022. Summary Health Statistics: National Health Interview Survey: 2018. Table A-4a.http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nhis/shs/tables.htm
Cancer Death Rates per 100,000 – Men
Black/Non-Hispanic White Ratio
216.0
182.5
1.2
12.9
8.4
1.5
Source: NCI 2022. Seer Cancer Statistics Review, U.S. 5-Year Age-Adjusted Mortality Rates, 2016-2020, SEER*Explorer. https://seer.cancer.gov/explorer/ [Accessed 11/30/2022].
Cancer Death Rates per 100,000 – Women
149.2
133.0
4.8
3.6
Age-adjusted Chronic Liver Disease and Cirrhosis Death Rates per 100,000 (2019)
Men
10.4
15.4
Women
8.7
0.6
Total
7.7
11.9
Source: CDC 2022. National Vital Statistics Report, Vol.70, No. 8. Table 10. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr70/nvsr70-08-508.pdf
1CDC, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control. Web-based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System (WISQARS)http://www.cdc.gov/injury/wisqars/fatal.html
