Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease: An Expanding Health Care Epidemic

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) has become a common worldwide condition, the prevalence of which continues to increase with the worldwide surge in the incidence of obesity and diabetes. In the United States alone, NAFLD affects between 60 and 100 million people, including 10% of American children. The spectrum of disease ranges from simple, nonclinically significant hepatic steatosis to steatohepatitis (NASH) to cirrhosis, hepatocellular carcinoma, and decompensated liver disease. In 2016, NAFLD was reported to surpass hepatitis C as the leading indication for liver transplantation among adults under the age of 50, and it is predicted to be the leading indication for liver transplantation in the next decade (Banini and Sanyal, Am J Gastroenterol 2016, Vol 111; Abstract 46).
Source: Clinics in Liver Disease - Category: Gastroenterology Authors: Tags: Preface Source Type: research