‘New normal’: Hospital admissions for severe alcohol-related liver disease soaring since lockdown

Hospital admissions for alcohol-related severe liver disease have soared across Victoria as experts warn that younger patients and more women are being treated for the life-threatening condition.

A new study by the Burnet Institute found hospitalisations for alcohol-related hepatitis more than doubled during the coronavirus lockdowns, and admissions have remained high in the years since.

Alcohol-associated hepatitis is an acute, potentially deadly inflammation of the liver caused by excessive drinking and marked by rapid-onset jaundice. In severe cases, it can lead to multi-organ failure.

As part of the study, commissioned by the Foundation for Alcohol Research and Education, researchers analysed Victorian hospital data taken from the statewide administrative health database.

They found between January 2017 and February 2020 there were 1132 admissions for alcohol-associated hepatitis. This number soared to 2979 admissions between March 2020 and June 2024, an increase of more than 163 per cent.

The researchers warned doctors were increasingly treating Victorians in their 30s and early 40s who were arriving at hospital gravely ill.

The study also found that four out of every 10 patients hospitalised in Victoria with alcohol-associated hepatitis were now under the age of 46.

Almost 575 admissions were people under the age of 35, while more than a quarter were aged between 36 and 45.

Women are also being diagnosed with severe liver disease at an increasingly high rate and now account for more than one in three cases of alcohol-associated hepatitis in Victoria and about 16 per cent were younger than 35.

The Burnet Institute’s Professor Jessica Howell said the number of women admitted to hospitals with the condition increased sharply during the pandemic, and while it declined after lockdowns, it has remained higher than pre-pandemic levels.

“Before COVID, the rate for women coming into hospital with this condition was really quite static, but it increased markedly during the pandemic,” Howell said.

Between January 2017 and February 2020 there were 443 female admissions of alcohol-associated hepatitis. This soared to 1099 women hospitalised between March 2020 and June 2024.

“We are now seeing a new normal for admissions of alcohol-associated hepatitis among women,” the gastroenterologist and hepatologist at St Vincent’s Hospital and the Royal Melbourne Hospital said.

Howell said the concerning rise in women being hospitalised for the condition was a catalyst for the study and more research was needed to understand the reason behind this trend.

Historically, severe liver disease, fuelled by excessive drinking, has been diagnosed in older, predominantly male patients.

Howell said women in their 30s and 40s took on a significant burden during the pandemic, often juggling working remotely and the responsibility of homeschooling. Others increased their alcohol intake after finding themselves trapped in difficult situations, including domestic violence.

“For many people post-pandemic, there’s been ongoing pressures and difficulties accessing health services to get the help that they might need,” she said, adding that alcohol companies were targeting women with advertising campaigns.

“For women particularly, there are challenges to accessing alcohol support services, both around stigma and discrimination, and the competing priorities of caring for their families.”

Howell said patients often arrived at hospital with severe inflammation of the liver and symptoms including fever, nausea, vomiting and yellowing skin.

Rachel Allen’s son Dylan died in 2022 aged just 26 from alcohol-related hepatitis.

Allen described Dylan as an intelligent, independent thinker and an “old soul”, who was deeply loved by his family.

He began self-medicating with alcohol when he was a teenager to cope with anxiety. Before his death, he was drinking litres of cask wine a day.

Allen, who lives in NSW, said the family desperately sought support for Dylan but were met by a fragmented healthcare system where it was difficult to get help for both his mental health issues and his alcohol addiction.

“The mental health hospital he was repeatedly admitted to would attempt to deal with his mental health by assigning him a psychiatrist; however, there wasn’t an alcohol program there,” she said.

“What we found was that all the services were quite separate.”

Before he died, Dylan told his mother if he could leave any legacy, it would be to get warning labels on the alcohol that put him on a path to dependence.

“The suffering he endured at the end of his life was so confronting and heartbreaking,” said Allen, who has been lobbying for warning labels on alcohol packaging since Dylan’s death.

“My hope is that by sharing his story, we can build a system that responds sooner, treats the whole person and never allows stigma to determine the quality of care someone receives.”

Howell said there was often a misconception that alcohol-related harm largely affected more disadvantaged groups. However, the data showed Victorians across the entire socioeconomic spectrum were presenting to hospital.

The study also found the number of men admitted to hospital with alcohol-associated hepatitis was more than double the rate it was before COVID-19.

Howell said severe liver disease could be triggered when a large, toxic amount of alcohol is consumed in a single episode or following repeated heavy drinking over years.

Foundation for Alcohol Research and Education chief executive Ayla Chorley said alcohol-related harm was rising, despite a growing number of younger Australians opting to drink less.

“We see a lot in the media of stories around Gen Z drinking less and Millennials drinking less than Boomers, but that only tells half the story,” Chorley said.

“What this research demonstrates is that those who are drinking are doing so at higher risk levels and alcohol harm is becoming more hidden.”

Chorley said binge-drinking used to be rampant in nightclubs, pubs and on the street, but more people were now drinking to excess at home and purchasing alcohol through online delivery services.

“There is an idea that alcohol consumption overall is dropping, but it’s not,” she said. “The harms are actually increasing. More people are dying than ever before.”

The number of Australians who died from alcohol-induced causes rose to 1829 people in 2025, up from 1765 the previous year, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

Last month, a federal inquiry laid bare the extent of alcohol harm in Australia and made several recommendations.

Chorley called on the federal government to urgently act on those recommendations, including addressing prolific alcohol advertising and regulating rapid home delivery.

Australia’s alcohol guidelines recommend adults drink no more than 10 standard drinks a week and no more than four standard drinks on any one day.

If you or anyone you know needs support call Lifeline on 131 114

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