Trending News Today: Alcohol-Related Disease Beats Hepatitis C as Leading Cause for Liver Transplant

A new study found that alcohol-associated liver disease is now the leading cause for liver transplants in the United States, beating out hepatitis C, Kaiser Health News reported. According to the article, the researchers said that this trend could be because hepatitis C has become easier to treat with antiviral drugs, as well as an increasing openness to liver candidates’ history of alcohol and addiction. The analysis showed that 36.7% of the approximately 33,000 liver transplant patients in the study had alcohol-associated liver disease in 2016, up from 24.2% in 2002, the article reported.

A Kaiser Family Foundation poll indicates more than half of respondents support a Medicare for All plan, The Hill reported. According to the article, 56% responded that they supported such a plan, whereas 42% opposed the idea. Support also increased when people were told that Medicare for All would guarantee health insurance for all Americans, but dropped when they were told that the proposal would require most Americans to pay more taxes, the article reported.

A recent study suggests that the rotavirus vaccine may be linked to lower rates of type 1 diabetes, Reuters reported. According to the article, the researchers compared rates of type 1 diabetes in the 8 years before and after May 2007, when the routine oral rotavirus vaccine was introduced for infants 6 weeks and older. The study showed that type 1 diabetes cases declined 14% among children aged 4 years and younger after the rotavirus vaccine was introduced, but did not find a meaningful change among older children, the article reported.