Liver disease is a serious health problem that can affect people at any age. But in older adults, it can be harder to notice. As we age, our bodies go through changes. These changes can make it difficult to spot early signs of liver damage.
The liver is one of the most important organs in the body. It helps digest food, stores energy, and removes harmful substances from the blood. When the liver is damaged, it can’t do these jobs well.
Damage can come from many causes, such as infections, drinking too much alcohol, fat buildup in the liver, or side effects from medicine. If the damage gets worse over time, it can lead to long-term liver problems or even liver failure.
There are different types of liver disease. Some of the most common are hepatitis, fatty liver disease, alcoholic liver disease, and cirrhosis. Cirrhosis means the liver is scarred and cannot heal properly.
In older people, liver disease often shows up in quiet ways. The symptoms might be mild, or they may look like signs of aging or other common health problems. For example, someone might feel tired all the time, not want to eat, or feel confused. These signs can be mistaken for problems like arthritis, memory loss, or heart disease.
Fatigue, or feeling very tired, is one of the most common symptoms. It can make it hard for older adults to do their usual activities or enjoy time with others. Another sign is jaundice, which means the skin or the white part of the eyes turns yellow.
This happens when the liver cannot remove a yellow substance called bilirubin from the blood. Jaundice is easier to see but may not appear until the liver is badly damaged.
Older adults may also notice swelling in the legs or belly. This happens when the liver can’t make enough protein to keep fluid in the blood vessels. It can also happen when blood has trouble flowing through the liver. Some people with liver disease bruise or bleed easily because their liver cannot help the blood to clot.
A serious but often missed sign is confusion or trouble thinking clearly. This is called hepatic encephalopathy. It happens when the liver can’t remove toxins from the blood, and those toxins reach the brain. In older adults, this confusion might be wrongly blamed on normal aging or dementia.
Other signs include weight loss, muscle loss, and not feeling hungry. These may happen because the liver is not helping the body use nutrients properly. Some people may have itchy skin, dark urine, or very light-colored stools.
Many older adults take different medicines for their health. Almost all medicines are processed in the liver. If the liver is not working well, these medicines can stay in the body too long or cause more side effects. Some drugs, like statins, antibiotics, or anti-inflammatory pills, can even damage the liver, especially when taken together.
Experts have found that older adults are more likely to have liver problems from medicines. This is why it’s important for doctors to check liver health with blood tests, especially for people with other health issues like diabetes or high blood pressure, or if they drink alcohol often.
In short, liver disease in older adults can be easy to miss. Signs like tiredness, memory problems, weight loss, or swelling may not seem like liver problems, but they can be.
Catching liver disease early can help stop it from getting worse and can help people feel better and live longer. Knowing what to look for and talking to a doctor about any changes is very important.
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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