Influence of socioeconomic and cultural factors in the etiology of cirrhosis of the liver.

INTRODUCTION:Cirrhosis of the liver is a serious public health problem worldwide, with regional variations determined by cultural factors and economic development. AIM:To know the characteristics of the social, cultural, and economic factors of the patients with cirrhosis of the liver in Veracruz. MATERIALS AND METHODS:A multicenter, retrolective, relational research study was conducted on patients with cirrhosis of the liver at five healthcare institutions in Veracruz. The variables analyzed were etiology, age, sex, civil status, educational level, occupation, and income. Descriptive and inferential statistics were utilized, and statistical significance was set at a P<.05. The Windows IBM-SPSS version 25.0 program was employed. RESULTS:A total of 182 case records of patients with cirrhosis of the liver were included. The etiologic factors were chronic alcohol consumption (47.8%), viral disease (28.5%), nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) (8.79%), autoimmune liver disease (4.4%), cholestasis (1.64%), and cryptogenic liver disease (8.8%). Mean patient age was 66.14±13.91, with a predominance of men (58.79%). In comparing the socioeconomic and cultural factors related to etiology, secondary and tertiary education and singleness were statistically significant in male alcoholics (P<.05), viral diseases and NAFLD were significantly associated with women with no income (P<.05), cryptogenic liver disease was significantly associated with women (P<.05), and cholestasis and autoimmune liver disease were not significantly associated with any of the factors. CONCLUSIONS:The study results revealed the influence of socioeconomic and cultural factors related to the different causes of cirrhosis of the liver in our environment.