Dr. Jenn Flemming is an Associate Professor of Medicine and Public Health Sciences at Queen’s University and a practicing gastroenterologist and hepatologist at Kingston Health Sciences Centre. She leads a health services research program that uses population-based data from Ontario to study the epidemiology and outcomes of patients living with liver disease.
With support from the SEAMO Established Researcher Fund, Dr. Flemming’s latest project investigates the epidemiology and outcomes of adolescents and young adults with alcohol-associated hepatitis in Ontario. Her team has also examined the growing burden of alcohol-associated acute and chronic pancreatitis in this same population. Two recent publications from her group have revealed a troubling trend: between the ages of 13 an 39, the rate of alcohol-induced chronic gastrointestinal conditions has increased over the past decade, with a more rapid rise observed among females than males.
This research underscores an urgent public health issue. Since high-risk alcohol use is both identifiable and modifiable, Dr. Flemming’s work aims to highlight the importance of early identification and intervention. Preventing the onset of serious conditions like hepatitis and pancreatitis before they develop is key to improving long-term outcomes for these patients.
SEAMO’s funding has been instrumental in helping Dr. Flemming’s team complete these analyses and support an incoming Translational Medicine (TMED) Master’s student Courtney Campbell, who will expand the research by examining alcohol consumption patterns among youth and young adults using data from the Canadian Community Health Survey.
The project has already gained wide attention. Two recent publications from her group, Trends in Alcohol-Associated Liver Disease Among Young Adults in Ontario and Epidemiology of Alcohol-Associated Pancreatitis Among Youth and Young Adults, have been published in JAMA Network Open, and the research was recently highlighted in People Magazine and on CBC Radio’s The Current.
Looking ahead, Dr. Flemming’s team will explore healthcare utilization patterns for adolescents and young adults with acute alcohol-associated hepatitis. This next phase aims to identify opportunities for public health interventions within routine healthcare to screen for harmful alcohol use. In parallel, the Courtney’s work will link health survey data with administrative health data to study how high-risk alcohol exposure—and other modifiable lifestyle factors—are associated with severe liver-related outcomes.
This research represents an important step forward in understanding and addressing the rising toll of alcohol-related liver disease in younger populations.