Liver disease is a serious health issue that can affect people of any age, but it is especially important to understand how it appears in older adults. As people age, their bodies change, and these changes can make liver problems harder to spot.
In many cases, older adults with liver disease do not show obvious signs at first. This makes early detection and proper care very important.
The liver is a vital organ that helps digest food, store energy, and remove toxins from the body. When it gets damaged—by infection, alcohol, fat buildup, or medications—it doesn’t work as well.
Over time, this damage can lead to chronic liver disease or even liver failure. Common types of liver disease include hepatitis, fatty liver disease, alcoholic liver disease, and cirrhosis (scarring of the liver).
In older adults, liver disease can be tricky to detect because the symptoms may be mild or mistaken for signs of aging or other conditions.
According to a 2021 review published in Hepatology, older adults with liver disease often have non-specific symptoms like fatigue, poor appetite, confusion, or mild swelling in the legs. These symptoms are easy to overlook or blame on aging, arthritis, or heart issues.
Fatigue is one of the most common symptoms. It’s a feeling of being extremely tired, even after resting. In older adults, this can limit daily activities or lead to isolation.
Another sign is jaundice, which causes yellowing of the skin or eyes. This happens when the liver can’t get rid of a yellow substance called bilirubin. Jaundice is more obvious but may not appear until the liver is very damaged.
Swelling in the legs or belly is also common. This happens when the liver can’t make enough proteins to keep fluid in the blood vessels, or when blood flow through the liver is blocked. Older adults might also notice easy bruising or bleeding, as the liver helps the blood clot properly.
One serious but often missed symptom is confusion or forgetfulness, known as hepatic encephalopathy. This happens when toxins build up in the brain because the liver can’t filter them out. In older people, this may be misdiagnosed as dementia or normal memory loss.
A 2019 study in The Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hepatology found that mental confusion caused by liver disease is often underdiagnosed in people over 65, leading to delayed treatment.
Weight loss, muscle loss, and poor appetite are also signs to look out for. They may signal that the liver isn’t processing nutrients properly. In some cases, liver disease causes itching due to bile buildup, and dark urine or pale stools may also appear.
Many older adults take medications for other health problems, and some of these drugs can affect the liver. The liver processes almost all medications, so if it is not working well, drug side effects can become more severe.
Research shows that older adults are more likely to experience liver injury from medications, especially if they take multiple drugs at once. A 2020 study from The American Journal of Geriatric Pharmacotherapy highlighted the risk of liver injury in elderly patients taking drugs like statins, antibiotics, or anti-inflammatory medications.
In conclusion, liver disease in older adults often hides behind symptoms that seem unrelated or mild. Tiredness, confusion, weight changes, and swelling are all clues that should not be ignored. Regular blood tests and check-ups are important, especially for people with diabetes, high blood pressure, or a history of alcohol use.
When liver disease is caught early, treatments can slow down damage and improve quality of life. Because symptoms are often subtle, knowing what to look for can make a big difference.
If you care about liver health, please read studies about simple habit that could give you a healthy liver, and common diabetes drug that may reverse liver inflammation.
For more information about health, please see recent studies about simple blood test that could detect your risk of fatty liver disease, and results showing this green diet may strongly lower non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.
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