NAFLD AND NASH Linked to Metabolic Syndrome and Cardiovascular Disease
Patients With Fatty Liver are at Increased Risk of Cardiovascular Disease
Prevalence Estimates Vary Widely, and Approach 25% Among Adults
Risk Factors for Fatty Liver Include Overweight, Type 2 Diabetes, and Sedentary Lifestyle
MILAN, April 24/PRNewswire/ -- Data presented at today's sessions of the 43rd Annual Meeting
of the European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL) further confirm
that nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and its most severe form,
nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), are associated with the metabolic
syndrome and pose an increased risk of cardiovascular disease.
NAFLD and NASH are significant health problems that affect
millions of people worldwide, especially in Western countries. NAFLD is a
fatty accumulation in the liver that does not result from excessive use of
alcohol. When this condition progresses, and is associated with inflammation
and liver damage, it is then called NASH, which is thought to occur in 15% to
25% of cases of NAFLD. NASH is clearly associated with the risk of developing
liver cirrhosis, and its complications, including hepatocellular carcinoma,
the most frequent primary tumour of the liver. NASH-related cirrhosis is an
increasingly occurring indication for liver transplantation.
In turn, the metabolic syndrome is a combination of risk
factors, including high blood lipids, abdominal obesity, and a tendency to
diabetes. The association between NAFLD, NASH, and the metabolic syndrome is
a great cause for concern because people with the metabolic syndrome are at
increased risk for type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease, including
heart attack and stroke.
According to Dr. Fabio Marra, Associate Professor of Medicine
at the University of Florence, "When I see a patient with a fatty liver, I
have to consider all the other risk factors for cardiovascular diseases and
try to intervene aggressively to limit the effects of those other factors,
because accumulating data indicate that the fatty liver may be itself an
additional risk factor."
The precise prevalence of NAFLD and NASH within individual
countries is elusive. Large scale epidemiological studies are still needed,
and definitive laboratory tests to identify patients with NASH are
unavailable. At present, a biopsy of the liver is the only accepted
diagnostic method. Despite these limitations, the best current estimates
suggest that in the general population NAFLD can be found in one-fourth to
one-third of adults in Western countries. One U.S. study of children who died
as a result of accidents found that 13% had NAFLD.
While a number of risk factors have been identified, the
foregoing percentages rise most dramatically among people who are obese. For
example, studies have found NAFLD in 84% to 96% of patients undergoing
bariatric surgery. For these reasons, NAFLD and NASH are seen to be
increasing as poor dietary habits and sedentary lifestyles become more
widespread.
Although NAFLD and NASH have not to date been included as
components of the metabolic syndrome, increasingly the onset of NAFLD is
being viewed by experts as an early event in the development of insulin
resistance and therefore as an indicator or predictor of future metabolic
syndrome.
Among key unanswered questions: Why do some people with NAFLD
live out their lives unaffected by their condition of having a fatty liver,
while others go on to develop NASH and cirrhosis, or diabetes and/or
cardiovascular disease?
At present, there are no specific therapies for NASH. Among
the chief recommendations offered to patients are to lose weight gradually
(particularly if one is obese) and to increase physical activity, to eat a
healthy diet, and to avoid alcohol.
About EASL
The European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL)
aims to promote investigation into liver disease and improve the treatments
that currently exist for these conditions. The association, through its
annual meetings, seeks to inform and educate both the scientific community as
well as society in general about the increasing occurrence of liver diseases
along with the importance of understanding these conditions in order to treat
and prevent them. Since its creation in 1966, the EASL congress has been
hosted in 20 different European countries. Currently the association has over
1400 members and the annual congress attracts over 6000 delegates from over
65 countries each year.
Source: EASL - European Association for the Study of the Liver
For more information: Carolina Annand / Karine Elkobbi / Melisa Corrigan, carolinaannand@eurorscg.com / karine.elkobbi@eurorscg.com / melisa.corrigan@eurorscg.com; Tel. +33-617-43-03-38 / +33-6-61-17-44-77 / +39-328-411-01-38, Euro RSCG Life
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