Independent Nurse: Clinical - Hepatology - Managing fatty liver diseases.(non-alcoholic fatty liver disease)(Case study)

LIVER DISEASE

Simple interventions may be of use in those with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, says Dr Mamun-Al-Mahtab.

The term non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) or fatty liver, as it is popularly referred to, involves a spectrum of liver diseases ranging from simple steatosis or non-alcoholic fatty liver (NAFL) to non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). Histologically, NASH resembles alcohol-induced liver disease in the absence of alcohol abuse.

Prevalence of NAFLD is high in the Western hemisphere. In the US it is 20 per cent,1 while studies from Japan and Italy show a prevalence of NAFLD in the general population ranging from 3 to 58 per cent.2

Identifying those at risk

Prevalence increases with obesity and it is an established fact that diets rich in fat and high in calories lead to obesity and insulin resistance.

Patients with diabetes mellitus are at risk as well. In a study of 100 type-2 diabetes patients from …