A new research has found that men with Alcohol-related liver cirrhosis are more likely to receive alcohol treatment than women with the disease.

‘Gender-specific barriers to alcohol treatment for patients with alcohol-related cirrhosis should be reduced.’

Despite the fact that nearly three-quarters of patients had insurance coverage for substance abuse treatment, only 10% had a face-to-face mental health or substance abuse visit and only 0.8% received an approved relapse prevention medication within a year of being diagnosed with alcohol-related cirrhosis. Women were less likely to have a face-to-face visit or to receive a relapse prevention medication than men. At the end of a year, patients who attended alcohol treatment or received an approved medication were 15% less likely to experience a worsening of their cirrhosis than those who did neither. 




The researchers concluded that patients with alcohol-related cirrhosis should be encouraged to receive alcohol treatment to prevent worsening of their condition. Because women were less likely to receive alcohol treatment than men with the disease, urgent attention is needed to reduce gender-specific barriers to alcohol treatment for patients with alcohol-related cirrhosis.
Source-Newswise