TY - JOUR
T1 - Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in South Asians
T2 - A review of the literature
AU - Singh, Sital
AU - Kuftinec, Gabriela N.
AU - Sarkar, Souvik
PY - 2017
Y1 - 2017
N2 - Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) are national and global epidemics. The disease is characterized by a spectrum of liver steatosis (fat deposition), inflammation (in NASH) and fibrosis. NAFLD and specifically NASH can lead to cirrhosis, which carry risks of progression to portal hypertension and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). NASH is also associated with higher mortality from cardiovascular causes. Most of the data for NAFLD has been obtained from the perspective of developed nations, although the disease is increasing and threatening to reach epidemic proportions across the world. Emerging data is notable for high prevalence of NAFLD in South Asian popula-tions, presumably resulting from a combination of underlying genetic polymorphisms and changes in socio-economic sta-tus. It is also notable that an ‘Asian Paradox’ has been defined for NAFLD based upon the observation of lower than pre-defined body mass index (BMI), otherwise termed as “lean NAFLD”, among this population. Yet, data remains limited in regards to the characteristics of NAFLD/NASH in this popula-tion. In this article, we present a review of the literature and discuss the prevalence, associated risk factors and burden of HCC in South Asians with NAFLD.
AB - Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) are national and global epidemics. The disease is characterized by a spectrum of liver steatosis (fat deposition), inflammation (in NASH) and fibrosis. NAFLD and specifically NASH can lead to cirrhosis, which carry risks of progression to portal hypertension and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). NASH is also associated with higher mortality from cardiovascular causes. Most of the data for NAFLD has been obtained from the perspective of developed nations, although the disease is increasing and threatening to reach epidemic proportions across the world. Emerging data is notable for high prevalence of NAFLD in South Asian popula-tions, presumably resulting from a combination of underlying genetic polymorphisms and changes in socio-economic sta-tus. It is also notable that an ‘Asian Paradox’ has been defined for NAFLD based upon the observation of lower than pre-defined body mass index (BMI), otherwise termed as “lean NAFLD”, among this population. Yet, data remains limited in regards to the characteristics of NAFLD/NASH in this popula-tion. In this article, we present a review of the literature and discuss the prevalence, associated risk factors and burden of HCC in South Asians with NAFLD.
KW - Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD)
KW - Non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH)
KW - South Asia
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U2 - 10.14218/JCTH.2016.00045
DO - 10.14218/JCTH.2016.00045
M3 - Review article
AN - SCOPUS:85041116622
VL - 5
SP - 76
EP - 81
JO - Journal of Clinical and Translational Hepatology
JF - Journal of Clinical and Translational Hepatology
SN - 2225-0719
IS - 1
ER -