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Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease and Cardiovascular Disease Risk

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Abstract

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is an increasingly recognized cause of liver disease in the United States and worldwide. Increasing recognition of the importance of NAFLD and its strong relationship with the metabolic syndrome has stimulated an interest in the possible role of NAFLD in the development and progression of cardiovascular disease (CVD). Recent prospective studies demonstrated that NAFLD, especially in its necroinflammatory form (NASH), is linked to an increased risk of CVD, independently of obesity and other shared cardiometabolic risk factors. This suggests that NAFLD/NASH is not merely a marker of CVD, but may also be actively involved in its pathogenesis, possibly through the systemic release of proinflammatory/proatherogenic factors from the inflamed/steatotic liver as well as the contribution of NAFLD per se to whole-body insulin resistance and atherogenic dyslipidemia. Health care providers managing NAFLD patients should recognize this increased CVD risk and undertake early, aggressive risk factor modification.

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  1. Section of Endocrinology, Department of Biomedical and Surgical Sciences, University of Verona, Ospedale Civile Maggiore, Piazzale Stefani, 1, 37126, Verona, Italy

    Giovanni Targher

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Correspondence to Giovanni Targher.

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Targher, G. Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease and Cardiovascular Disease Risk. Curr Cardio Risk Rep 4, 32–39 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12170-009-0070-3

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