Editorial: International Consensus Recommendations to Replace the Terminology of Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD) with Metabolic-Associated Fatty Liver Disease (MAFLD)

Overview

Journal Med Sci Monit

Specialties General Medicine
Pathology

Date 2021 Jul 12

PMID 34248137

Citations 8

Authors

Nahum Mendez-Sanchez

Luis Enrique Diaz-Orozco

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

In 2020, international consensus guidelines recommended the renaming of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) to metabolic-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD), supported by diagnostic criteria. MAFLD affects up to 25% of the global population. However, the rates of MAFLD are likely to be underestimated due to the increasing prevalence of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and obesity. Within the next decade, MAFLD has been projected to become a major cause of cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) worldwide, as well as the most common indication for liver transplantation in the US. This transition in terminology and clinical criteria may increase momentum and clinical evidence at multiple levels, including patient diagnosis, management, and care, and provide the basis for new research areas and clinical development for therapeutics. The diagnostic criteria for MAFLD are practical, simple, and superior to the existing NAFLD criteria for identifying patients at increased risk of developing progressive liver disease. This Editorial aims to present the historical evolution of the terminology for fatty liver disease and the advantages of diagnosis, patient management, and future research on MAFLD.

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