title: Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease - A multisystem disease?
abstract: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is one of the most common comorbidities associated with overweight and metabolic syndrome (MetS). Importantly, NAFLD is one of its most dangerous complications because it can lead to severe liver pathologies, including fibrosis, cirrhosis and hepatic cellular carcinoma. Given the increasing worldwide prevalence of obesity, NAFLD has become the most common cause of chronic liver disease and therefore is a major global health problem. Currently, NAFLD is predominantly regarded as a hepatic manifestation of MetS. However, accumulating evidence indicates that the effects of NAFLD extend beyond the liver and are negatively associated with a range of chronic diseases, most notably cardiovascular disease (CVD), diabetes mellitus type 2 (T2DM) and chronic kidney disease (CKD). It is becoming increasingly clear that these diseases are the result of the same underlying pathophysiological processes associated with MetS, such as insulin resistance, chronic systemic inflammation and dyslipidemia. As a result, they have been shown to be independent reciprocal risk factors. In addition, recent data have shown that NAFLD actively contributes to aggravation of the pathophysiology of CVD, T2DM, and CKD, as well as several other pathologies. Thus, NAFLD is a direct cause of many chronic diseases associated with MetS, and better detection and treatment of fatty liver disease is therefore urgently needed. As non-invasive screening methods for liver disease become increasingly available, detection and treatment of NAFLD in patients with MetS should therefore be considered by both (sub-) specialists and primary care physicians.
authors.affiliation: Ivana Mikolasevic, Sandra Milic, Davor Stimac, Department of Gastroenterology, UHC Rijeka, 51000 Rijeka, Croatia.
authors.forename: Ivana
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Mikolasevic
authors.affiliation: Ivana Mikolasevic, Sandra Milic, Davor Stimac, Department of Gastroenterology, UHC Rijeka, 51000 Rijeka, Croatia.
authors.forename: Sandra
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Milic
authors.affiliation: Ivana Mikolasevic, Sandra Milic, Davor Stimac, Department of Gastroenterology, UHC Rijeka, 51000 Rijeka, Croatia.
authors.forename: Tamara
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Turk Wensveen
authors.affiliation: Ivana Mikolasevic, Sandra Milic, Davor Stimac, Department of Gastroenterology, UHC Rijeka, 51000 Rijeka, Croatia.
authors.forename: Ivana
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Grgic
authors.affiliation: Ivana Mikolasevic, Sandra Milic, Davor Stimac, Department of Gastroenterology, UHC Rijeka, 51000 Rijeka, Croatia.
authors.forename: Ivan
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Jakopcic
authors.affiliation: Ivana Mikolasevic, Sandra Milic, Davor Stimac, Department of Gastroenterology, UHC Rijeka, 51000 Rijeka, Croatia.
authors.forename: Davor
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Stimac
authors.affiliation: Ivana Mikolasevic, Sandra Milic, Davor Stimac, Department of Gastroenterology, UHC Rijeka, 51000 Rijeka, Croatia.
authors.forename: Felix
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Wensveen
authors.affiliation: Ivana Mikolasevic, Sandra Milic, Davor Stimac, Department of Gastroenterology, UHC Rijeka, 51000 Rijeka, Croatia.
authors.forename: Lidija
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Orlic
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D024821:Metabolic Syndrome / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D065626:Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015995:Prevalence; D011379:Prognosis; D051436:Renal Insufficiency, Chronic / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D012307:Risk Factors
keywords: Cardiovascular disease; Chronic kidney disease; Diabetes mellitus type 2; Metabolic syndrome; Multisystem disease; Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease