Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a multisystemic clinical condition that presents with a wide spectrum of extrahepatic manifestations, such as obesity, type 2 diabetes mellitus, metabolic syndrome, cardiovascular diseases, chronic kidney disease, extrahepatic malignancies, cognitive disorders, and polycystic ovarian syndrome. Among NAFLD patients, the most common mortality etiology is cardiovascular disorders, followed by extrahepatic malignancies, diabetes mellitus, and liver-related complications. Furthermore, the severity of extrahepatic diseases is parallel to the severity of NAFLD. In clinical practice, awareness of the associations of concomitant diseases is of major importance for initiating prompt and timely screening and multidisciplinary management of the disease spectrum. In 2020, a consensus from 22 countries redefined the disease as metabolic (dysfunction)-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD), which resulted in the redefinition of the corresponding population. Although the patients diagnosed with MAFLD and NAFLD mostly overlap, the MAFLD and NAFLD populations are not identical. In this review, we compared the associations of key extrahepatic diseases between NAFLD and MAFLD.

Eda Kaya, Alev Bakir, Haluk Tarik Kani, Coskun Ozer Demirtas, Caglayan Keklikkiran, and Yusuf Yilmaz. Gut and Liver 1999;0:. https://doi.org/10.5009/gnl19173

Background/aim: Although weight loss is recommended for the treatment of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in overweight and obese individuals, this treatment modality remains questionable in lean individuals. In this study, we investigated the effects of medical nutrition therapy (MNT) and intensive lifestyle interventions (ILIs) for NAFLD in lean versus obese patients. Methods: In total, 35 patients (14 lean and 21 obese) were included in the study. All patients underwent transient elastography examinations, and controlled attenuation parameter (CAP) of >238 dB/m was indicative of hepatic steatosis. After 8 weeks of dietitian follow-up with MNT and ILI, the patients were compared with the baseline. Results: Significant weight loss was recorded in both lean (5.4%) and obese patients (5.7%) with NAFLD. The mean BMI decreased from 23.9 (20.5–24.8) to 22.4 (19.5–24.2) kg/m² (P = 0.001) in lean patients and from 34.0 (30.0–42.0) to 31.6 (26.9–42.5) kg/m² (P < 0.001) in obese patients. The alanine aminotransferase level significantly decreased from 56 (15–163) to 28 (13–98) U/L (P = 0.010) in lean patients and from 27 (13–81) to 22 (13–46) U/L (P = 0.018) in obese patients. The median CAP decreased from 299 (246–360) to 236 (169–318) dB/m (P = 0.002) in lean patients and from 325 (258–400) to 253 (202–383) dB/m (P < 0.001) in obese patients. Moreover, remission of hepatic steatosis was detected in eight lean patients (57.1%) and eight obese patients (38.1%). Conclusion: These results indicate that 5% body weight loss in effective in both obese and lean patients resulting in a similar NAFLD remission.

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is histologically classified as either non-alcoholic fatty liver or non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). NASH is the progressive subtype of NAFLD. Individuals with NASH are at significant risk of developing hepatic fibrosis, cirrhosis, hepatocellular carcinoma, and liver-related and all-cause mortality. NAFLD is closely associated with obesity, type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), metabolic syndrome, and cardiovascular events. Its prevalence is estimated to be above 30% in Turkey; and recent studies confirm this estimate. According to these studies, the prevalence of NAFLD in Turkey is between 48.3% and 60.1%. Currently, Turkey can be considered a risky region in terms of NAFLD burden as it is the most obese country in Europe with an obesity prevalence of 32.1% according to the 2016 World Health Organization data. Moreover, along with the increasing prevalence of obesity and T2DM in Turkey, the burden of NAFLD is estimated to increase in the upcoming decade. Despite the growing burden, we lack well-designed systemic studies that investigate NAFLD and its marked histological severity. In this review, we present studies on the burden of NAFLD and NASH, the natural history of NAFLD, and its association with other systemic diseases conducted with Turkish populations.

Background and Aim: The objective of the present study was to investigate the prevalence of metabolic-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) in patients with dyspepsia. Materials and Methods: A total of 909 consecutive patients who presented with dyspepsia at 8 tertiary care centers in Turkey between March 2019 and December 2019 were included. Results: The median age was 47 years. Among them, 30.3% of the patients were obese, 18.8% had type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), 35.1% had metabolic syndrome, 84.8% had dyslipidemia, and 23.9% had hypertension. The prevalence of MAFLD was 45.5%. Among the patients with MAFLD, the prevalence of obesity, T2DM, metabolic syndrome, dyslipidemia, and hypertension was 43.3%, 24.9%, 52.5%, 92.3%, and 31.9%, respectively. MAFLD was significantly associated with all of the metabolic comorbidities (p