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Researchers have projected the rates of liver disease and associated deaths due to increased alcohol consumption during the Covid-19 pandemic. The research has been published in the 'Hepatology Journal'. A team led by investigators at Massachusetts General Hospital used data from a national survey of US adults on their drinking habits that found that excessive drinking (such as binge drinking) increased by 21 per cent during the Covid-19 pandemic. The scientists simulated the drinking trajectories and liver disease trends in all US adults. They estimated that a one-year increase in alcohol consumption during the Covid-19 pandemic will result in 8,000 additional deaths from alcohol-related liver disease, 18,700 cases of liver failure, and 1,000 cases of liver cancer by 2040. In the short term, alcohol consumption changes due to Covid-19 are expected to cause 100 additional deaths and 2,800 additional cases of liver failure by 2023. The researchers noted that a sustained increase in alcohol consumption for more than one year could result in 19-35 per cent additional mortality.