April is Alcohol Awareness Month, an opportunity to learn about alcohol use disorder (AUD) and the adverse impact of alcohol misuse on health and society. According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAA), researchers estimate that each year there are more than 178,000 alcohol-related deaths, making alcohol a leading preventable cause of death in the United States. 

Heavy alcohol drinking increases the risk for many diseases, including kidney and heart disease, pancreatitis, brain damage, mental health illnesses and disorders, and many cancers. Alcohol-associated liver disease (ALD) is the number one cause of death from alcohol use with almost all liver disease deaths in the United States involving alcohol. According to a recent article in JAMA, compounding this problem is an alarming trend of increasing alcohol consumption in women ages 40-64 during the pandemic which is leading to higher rates of disease and death.

The laboratory of Shannon Bailey, Ph.D., a professor in the UAB Department of Pathology's Division of Molecular and Cellular Pathology and Vice Chair for Faculty Affairs, is studying the early molecular drivers of ALD and investigating new potential treatment options for liver disease patients. Bailey is funded by the NIAAA.

"We are currently investigating new treatments that will boost or improve energy metabolism to aid in liver tissue repair in alcohol drinkers," Bailey says. "This research is fundamental as there are very few treatments for ALD and other alcohol-associated diseases."

"In addition to the research we do in the lab, it is important that we raise awareness about the harmful effects alcohol has on our health," Bailey says. "This is why April being Alcohol Awareness Month is so important. There are so many resources provided by the National Institutes of Health and other federal agencies to help increase understanding of alcohol misuse and treatment and share accessible recovery services."

Learn more about Alcohol Awareness Month here.