Changes of four common non-infectious liver diseases for the hospitalized patients in Beijing 302 hospital from 2002 to 2013

• Hospitalization rate among patients with non-infectious liver diseases significantly increased.
• The rate of inpatient admission for ALD increased by 170% during the study period.
• DILI, primarily from Chinese herbal medicine, increased substantially.

The implementation of a hepatitis B vaccination program in China has led to a significant decline in the prevalence and incidence of liver diseases secondary to hepatitis B virus over the past two decades. With recent changes in the economy and increases in average incomes in China during the same period, there has been a rapid rise in per capita alcohol consumption and an epidemic of obesity. We hypothesized that the burden of liver diseases in China has shifted from infectious to non-infectious etiologies. We retrospectively analyzed the data of 20,378 patients who were hospitalized in Beijing 302 hospital between 2002 and 2013. We found that the total admission rate secondary to alcoholic liver disease (ALD), non-alcoholic liver disease (NAFLD), autoimmune liver disease (AILD), and drug-induced liver injury (DILI) was 10.7%. ALD was the leading cause of inpatient hospitalization (3.9% of total admissions). The rate of inpatient admission for ALD, AILD, and DILI increased by 170%, 111%, and 107%, respectively during the study period. Chinese herbal medicine was the primary cause of DILI in our subjects. The burden of non-infectious liver diseases has increased over the last decade among hospitalized patients in a large tertiary hospital in China. The increase in the rate of admission for ALD and DILI from Chinese herbal medicine suggests that strategies to reduce harmful use of alcohol and increase awareness and education on the use of herbal medicine are needed.