P-59 SOCIAL DETERMINANTS OF HEALTH AND INEQUITIES IN CHRONIC DISEASES: THE CASE OF LIVER DISEASES

Conflict of interest

No

Introduction and Objectives

Cirrhosis is the leading cause of liver-related deaths worldwide. However, it should be highlighted that not only biology determines the disease, since ancient times it has been described that health is socially determined, however, today the same underlying problems continue to arise since its causes remain unresolved. It is clear that the mechanisms of society have a direct influence on the disease and only by taking these aspects into account can we understand social inequities in the field of health and intervene to correct them.

Patients / Materials and Methods

Retrospective descriptive ecological study using data from secondary sources, coming from mortality databases, morbidity databases of the National Public Health Surveillance System, Transplant Network, National Institute of Health and Liver and Transplant Associations.

Results and Discussion

Although vaccination, screening, and antiviral treatment campaigns for hepatitis B and C have reduced the disease burden in some parts of the world, concomitant increases in injection drug use, alcohol abuse, and metabolic syndrome threaten these trends, moreoveer, we can estimate that the affected population is much larger.

Alcohol-related liver diseases are a public health problem and remain underestimated. Within alcoholic beverages, those of artisanal production such as chicha and guarapo are so cheap and easy to manufacture while they meet basic needs such as quenching thirst and hunger, and their production is not controlled, alcohol content exceeds regulatory levels, translating into high health care expenditures, and requires culturally accepted interventions.

Conclusions

The global burden of cirrhosis is substantial, therefore, ongoing efforts to address it require accurate estimates of epidemiology, study of its social determinants, and establishing public health interventions to decrease the burden of the disease and thus the pressure on the health system.