title: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease: an emerging liver disease in Taiwan.
abstract: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the most common liver disorder in Western countries, and has become increasingly recognized as a public health problem in Taiwan. Patients with non-alcoholic steatohepatitis, a more severe form of NAFLD, may progress to cirrhosis and its related complications, including hepatocellular carcinoma. Since NAFLD is highly linked to metabolic syndrome, such patients may have increased risks of complications related to both liver disease and metabolic syndrome. Therefore, if we fail to cope with this growing health problem, NAFLD may gradually replace viral hepatitis as the major etiology of liver disease in Taiwan.
authors.affiliation: Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Internal Medicine, Buddhist Tzu Chi General Hospital, Taipei Branch, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Ching-Sheng
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Hsu
authors.forename: Jia-Horng
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Kao
mesh_terms: D005234:Fatty Liver / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology / Q000628:therapy; D019698:Hepatitis C, Chronic / Q000150:complications; D006801:Humans; D065626:Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D013624:Taiwan / Q000453:epidemiology