Liver disease remains the only disease where mortality is rising in the UK. Alcohol-related liver disease (ARLD) and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) are the two commonest indications for liver transplantation in this country.

ALSPAC analysed the prevalence of these diseases in the F@24 clinic using a modality called transient elastography, also known as Fibroscan. This gives measurement on how fatty the liver is (steatosis) and how scarred it is (fibrosis). This demonstrated over 1 in 5 participants had NAFLD, with 1 in 40 having evidence of fibrosis. Individuals with harmful drinking patterns AND obesity were at greatest risk of fibrosis. This is all the more alarming as ARLD and NAFLD tend to be diseases that manifest in the 4th and 5th decade.

ALSPAC has an opportunity to be, to the best of our knowledge, the only birth cohort to sequentially assess its participants for liver disease. We are proposing to re-assess the participants that remain in the G1 cohort for liver disease to see if there has been a progression in the number of cases seen. This would be one of the first attempt to map the development of liver disease in the general population setting.