Department of Gastroenterology, Zhejiang Provincial Clinical Research Center for Digestive Diseases, the First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School
of Medicine, Hangzhou 310003, China
Abstract：Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is one of the most common chronic liver diseases, yet it has not received sufficient attention [1] . Over the past two decades, the overall global prevalence of NAFLD has risen from 25% to 37% [2] . The disease burden of NAFLD is fueled by the epidemic of obesity and diabetes [3] . It is estimated that more than half of patients with diabetes have NAFLD, and nearly one-third have nonalcoholic steatohepatitis, a progressive stage of the disease [4] . NAFLD is a major risk factor for end-stage liver disease, including liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma [5] . In recent years, the etiology of hepatocellular carcinoma has shown a shift from viral to nonviral factors, especially NAFLD. The prevalence of NAFLD-related hepatocellular carcinoma has tripled in the last decade in Asia [6] . NAFLD is not a condition with effects limited to the liver but rather a multisystem disease [7] . NAFLD is a driver of kidney disease, with a hazard ratio of 1.41 for incident chronic kidney disease [8] . The risk of cardiovascular disease is 1.64 times higher in patients with NAFLD and 2.58 times higher in those with severe NAFLD [9] . Patients with NAFLD are also at higher risk of all-cause mortality, cardiovascular mortality, and liver-related mortality, which are increased with the histological progression of NAFLD [10] .
引用本文:
. [J]. Hepatobiliary Pancreat Dis Int, 2024, 23(1): 1-3.
Huang HK, Li YM, Xu CF. Pre-MASLD: Should it be defined separately?. Hepatobiliary Pancreat Dis Int, 2024, 23(1): 1-3.
2024, Vol. 23 
