Adult Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD)

Abstract

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), a consequence of obesity and metabolic disturbances, is currently the leading cause of chronic liver disease in Western countries. NAFLD, however, varies greatly in disease severity and ranges from the relatively benign condition non-alcoholic fatty liver (NAFL) over the aggressive subtypes non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) to liver fibrosis and even cirrhosis. Patients with NAFLD are at increased risk of suffering from liver- and cardiovascular related mortality; however, there is still a knowledge gap on the natural history of the disease. The disease is of complex and of multifactorial origin and although NAFLD prevalence is continuously increasing there is a need of better tools regarding screening, diagnosing and treating the condition. Consequently, diagnosing NAFLD, predicting the prognosis, and treating the disease remain an everyday clinical challenge. This book chapter focuses on the burden of NAFLD and in the context of metabolic disease, NAFLD pathophysiology, and managing of the NAFLD patient in clinical practice.