Liver disease in the elderly.

While there are no liver diseases specific to advanced age, the presentation, clinical course and management of liver diseases in the elderly may differ in important respects from younger individuals. The management of older patients with specific liver diseases should be informed by these differences. Alcoholic liver disease presents at a more advanced stage, drug induced liver disease and viral hepatitis may also be more severe. It is increasingly recognised that primary hepatocellular cancer arises in elderly cirrhotics regardless of the etiology of the cirrhosis, the risk highest in hemochromatosis and cirrhosis arising from hepatitis B and C.