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Non-Alcoholic fatty liver disease and its relationship with cardiovascular disease and other extrahepatic diseases

Lookup NU author(s): Professor Quentin AnsteeORCiD

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC 4.0).


Abstract

© Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. Key physiological functions of the liver, including glucose and lipid metabolism, become disturbed in the setting of non-Alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and may be associated with a systemic inflammatory â € milieu' initiated in part by liver-secreted cytokines and molecules. Consequently, the pathophysiological effects of NAFLD extend beyond the liver with a large body of clinical evidence demonstrating NAFLD to be independently associated with both prevalent and incident cardiovascular disease (CVD), chronic kidney disease (CKD) and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). The magnitude of risk of developing these extrahepatic diseases parallels the underlying severity of NAFLD, such that patients with non-Alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) appear to be at greater risk of incident CVD, CKD and T2DM than those with simple steatosis. Other modifiers of risk may include genetic variants (eg, patatin-like phospholipase domain-containing 3 and trans-membrane 6 superfamily member 2 polymorphisms), visceral adipose tissue accumulation, dietary intake and the gut microbiome. Emerging data also suggest that NAFLD may be a risk factor for colonic neoplasia and reduced bone mineral density, especially among men. Importantly, improvement/resolution of NAFLD is associated with a reduced incidence of T2DM and improved kidney function, adding weight to causality and suggesting liver focused treatments may reduce risk of extrahepatic complications. Awareness of these associations is important for the clinicians such that CVD risk factor management, screening for T2DM and CKD are part of the routine management of patients with NAFLD.


Publication metadata

Author(s): Adams LA, Anstee QM, Tilg H, Targher G

Publication type: Article

Publication status: Published

Journal: Gut

Year: 2017

Volume: 66

Issue: 6

Pages: 1138-1153

Print publication date: 01/06/2017

Online publication date: 12/05/2017

Acceptance date: 16/02/2017

Date deposited: 05/07/2017

ISSN (print): 0017-5749

ISSN (electronic): 1468-3288

Publisher: BMJ Publishing Group

URL: https://doi.org/10.1136/gutjnl-2017-313884

DOI: 10.1136/gutjnl-2017-313884


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