Alcohol-related liver disease
Call 999 or go to A&E if
- Call 999 or go to A&E if you vomit blood or your poo is black and looks sticky, you have pain in your tummy, you have difficulty breathing or shortness of breath, or you feel suddenly confused, feel dizzy or have difficulty staying awake.
Do not drive to A&E. Ask someone to drive you or call 999 and ask for an ambulance. Bring any medicines you take with you.
Ask for an urgent GP appointment or get help from NHS 111 if
- If you regularly drink too much alcohol it can be very dangerous to stop drinking suddenly. Get medical help before you try to stop drinking.
Alcohol-related liver disease is damage to the liver caused by drinking too much alcohol over a long time. Getting help early can stop the damage getting worse.
Early-stage alcohol-related liver disease is frequently asymptomatic.
NHS — Symptoms of alcohol-related liver disease
The exact wording of the source
Symptoms of alcohol-related liver disease · status: current, verified 2026-09-01
Open
Alcohol-related liver disease (ARLD) does not always cause symptoms in the early stages.
Three stages are described: steatosis, alcohol-related hepatitis, and alcohol-related cirrhosis.
NHS — Stages of alcohol-related liver disease
The exact wording of the source
Stages of alcohol-related liver disease · status: current, verified 2026-09-01
Open
Stage 1: fatty liver (steatosis) ... Stage 2: alcohol-related hepatitis ... Stage 3: alcohol-related cirrhosis. The most serious stage of alcohol-related liver disease.
Recovery potential is stage-dependent: steatosis is usually reversible with abstinence, alcohol-related hepatitis partially so, and established cirrhosis usually not.
NHS — Stages of alcohol-related liver disease
The exact wording of the source
Stages of alcohol-related liver disease · status: current, verified 2026-09-01
Open
If you stop drinking, your liver can often recover. ... The liver can usually recover if you stop drinking. ... The liver may be able to recover from some of the damage. ... this damage cannot usually be reversed.
The aim of treatment is complete abstinence, at any stage of disease.
NHS — Treatment for alcohol-related liver disease
The exact wording of the source
Treatment for alcohol-related liver disease · status: current, verified 2026-09-01
Open
The aim of treatment for alcohol-related liver disease (ARLD) is usually to help you stop drinking alcohol completely. This is important whatever stage of ARLD you have.
The disease develops more quickly, and at lower levels of drinking, in women than in men. Anyone can get it.
NHS — Causes of alcohol-related liver disease
The exact wording of the source
Causes of alcohol-related liver disease · status: current, verified 2026-09-01
Open
ARLD develops more quickly and at lower drinking levels in women than in men. Anyone can get ARLD.
Related
- Cirrhosis — is associated with
- Ascites — related through cirrhosis
- Hepatocellular carcinoma — related through cirrhosis
- Hepatic encephalopathy — related through cirrhosis
- AAV vectors — related through cirrhosis
- Steatotic liver disease — related through cirrhosis
What we have not established
Relationships involving Alcohol-related liver disease that we have not evidenced are listed, never drawn — a line would read as a weak relationship, which is a different and false claim.
- None recorded for this concept.
Evidence search date: 2026-09-01
Content reviewed and approved
What we have not established here
Known gaps on this concept:
No content on withdrawal management. CLM-ARL-0006 warns that stopping suddenly can be dangerous, and no source in the ledger describes what safe withdrawal involves. That must not be improvised.
No content on severe alcohol-related hepatitis, which NHSBT POL195 lists as a transplant indication (Appendix G) - the policy is cached but the appendix has not been read.
No specialist content on alcohol-related liver disease specifically: scoring, steroid therapy and transplant eligibility all need BSG/BASL or EASL sources not yet acquired.
No research resolution.
The relationship between this aetiology and cirrhosis is evidenced (CLM-DIA-0001, an association) but the mechanism is not.
What has changed here
2026-09-01 — Concept created at plain and clinical resolutions, with a three-part emergency block including the sudden-cessation warning.
Phase 13 patient experience. Alcohol is the aetiology most likely to bring a frightened person to this site directly, and the NHS source is the most recently reviewed in the ledger.