Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease as driving force in coronary heart disease?

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) has emerged as an imperative public health problem worldwide. NAFLD is now the most common chronic liver disease in high-income countries, and is estimated to affect at least 25%–30% of the general population.1 NAFLD typically exists in a ‘milieu’ of altered metabolism, including abdominal obesity, insulin resistance, dysglycaemia and atherogenic dyslipidaemia.1 Cumulatively, these aetiological factors increase the risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD), and so it is, perhaps, not surprising that CVD is the leading cause of mortality in patients with NAFLD. The challenge over the past decade has been to tease apart the complex inter-relationships between NAFLD and these aetiological factors, to establish whether NAFLD per se increases the risk of developing CVD. The validation of NAFLD as an independent risk factor would have direct relevance for primary preventative strategies against CVD. A prior narrative review published in 2010 by...
Source: Gut - Category: Gastroenterology Authors: Tags: Commentary Source Type: research