Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the most common chronic liver disease, affecting approximately a quarter of all adults globally, largely due to the rise in obesity.
As well as being the fastest-growing cause of end-stage liver disease, primary liver cancer, and liver transplantation, NAFLD is increasingly recognized as a disease affecting multiple organ systems.
The Breakthrough
In a large-scale Swedish study involving 12,133 individuals with biopsy-confirmed NAFLD and 57,516 matched controls from the general population, researchers found a 71% increased risk for severe infections requiring hospital admission among NAFLD patients.
The findings were published in Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology.
How Was the Study Conducted?
The study, named ESPRESSO, assessed the infection risk of people diagnosed with NAFLD.
The patients with NAFLD showed the same range of infection sites as the general population, with respiratory and urogenital tract infections being the most common.
Why Is This Important?
Lead author Dr. Fahim Ebrahimi stated that the study highlighted the significance of NAFLD as a multisystem disorder that enhances the risk of infections independently from other underlying risk factors such as diabetes mellitus.
Surprising Findings
The researchers noted the increased risk of severe infections even in people with simple fatty liver disease without any liver inflammation or fibrosis.
The risk escalated further in individuals with the inflammatory subtype nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) or those who had developed fibrosis, with the highest risks found in patients with cirrhosis.
Implications
Dr. Ebrahimi noted that NAFLD clinical guidelines currently do not include specific recommendations for preventing and managing infections.
Based on these results, the prevention of infections should become a primary public health focus to manage NAFLD-related morbidities.
Corresponding author Jonas F Ludvigsson emphasized the importance of early diagnosis and treatment, saying the absolute risk difference at 20 years after NAFLD diagnosis was 17.3%, equating to one additional severe infection in every six NAFLD patients.
If you care about liver health, please read studies about dairy foods linked to liver cancer, and coffee drinkers may halve their risk of liver cancer.
For more information about liver health, please see recent studies about new therapy for fatty liver disease, and results showing Mediterranean diet could cut fatty liver disease by half.
The study was published in Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology.
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