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Non-Alcholic Fatty Liver Disease

 Contents:

1. What is NAFLD?

2. What are the symptoms of NAFLD?

3. What are the risk factors of NAFLD?

4. How to diagnose the disease?

5. How to prevent and treat NAFLD?


1. What is NAFLD?

NAFLD is associated with a range of Liver diseases starting from liver damage to liver cancer, thus called an umbrella term. It is associated with the storage of fats among liver cells, that's why the term fatty liver is commonly used. NAFLD is most common among European countries giving rise in East-Asia, an increasing threat to liver cancer. Some patients with NAFLD may develop more serious from non-alcoholic steatohepatitis leading towards inflammation, scarring, and liver cancer. The overall incidence of NAFLD was estimated to be 46·9 cases per 1000 person-years (36·4–57·5); 70·8 cases per 1000 person-years (48·7–92·8) in men and 29·6 cases per 1000 person-years (20·2–38·9) in women (p

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2. What are the symptoms of NAFLD?

NAFLD has a large window for an asymptomatic period until it culminates into decompensated cirrhosis which is an irreversible stage of liver disease. At a later stage, symptoms appear to include;
  • Fatigue
  • Pain in the upper right abdomen
  • Ascites
  • Jaundice
  • Variceal Bleed
  • Hepatorenal Syndrome
  • Enlarged spleen

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3. What are the risk factors of NAFLD?

Scientists still don't know the exact cause of NAFLD. But obesity and the accumulation of extra body fats are of paramount importance. There is no age limit for NAFLD but people in the middle ages are more prone to the disease due to their lifestyle changes. A list of some risk factors is given below;

  • Obesity
  • High Blood Pressure
  • Low-density lipoprotein (LDL) termed bad cholesterol
  • Diabetes

4. How to diagnose the disease?

As explained above, due to the asymptomatic disease condition, an early diagnosis is not possible that may be crucial for worsening disease conditions. Here are some blood and imaging analyses if something unusual is observed during a routine checkup.

Blood tests

  • Complete blood count
  • liver functions tests
  • fasting blood sugar
  • Hb1Ac
  • Lipid Profile
  • Hepatits B and Hepatitis C

 Imaging Analysis
  • Ultrasound
  • CT Scan
  • Transient Elastography
  • Liver Biopsy

5. How to prevent and treat NAFLD?

There is no liver-specific treatment for NAFLD due to worsening disease conditions. So managing the disease is imperative while reducing the risk of death. Losing weight, and maintaining blood sugar and lipid profile are key risk factors that controlled once can help in disease management.



References:

  1. Pandyarajan V, et al. Screening for nonalcoholic fatty liver disease in the primary care clinic. Gastroenterology & Hepatology. 2019; https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6676352/. Accessed Aug. 14, 2019.
  2. Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. American Liver Foundation. https://liverfoundation.org/for-patients/about-the-liver/diseases-of-the-liver/non-alcoholic-fatty-liver-disease/. Accessed July 20, 2021.
  3. Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and NASH. National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. https://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/liver-disease/nafld-nash. Accessed July 20, 2021.


This post first appeared on Public Health, please read the originial post: here

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