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The Clinical and Economic Burden of Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis

  • Fatty Liver Disease (Z Younossi, Section Editor)
  • Published:
Current Hepatology Reports Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose of review

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) will be the dominant and most impactful liver disease for the next generation. As the obesity and diabetes epidemic continues and the general populations in most industrialized countries become older, NAFLD and its progressive subtype nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) will have a significant clinical and economic impact on society, both in the USA and globally. This manuscript provides a review of recently published articles that detail the impact of NAFLD and NASH.

Recent findings

Overall, the literature shows that NAFLD is the most common liver disease globally, and that NASH is poised to become one of the dominant drivers of cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. Decompensated cirrhosis due to NASH will soon be the leading indication for liver transplantation. Costs increase significantly as patients progress to later stages of liver disease. Overall, the annual direct medical costs related to NAFLD are estimated to be near $100 billion in the USA and over €35 billion in Europe. The price tag almost triples if indirect costs are included. The global impact of NAFLD and NASH is projected to increase, with a 178% increase in liver-related deaths by 2030.

Summary

The clinical and economic impact of NAFLD and NASH will be immense in the upcoming decades. This highlights the great need for better screening, surveillance, linkage to care, risk stratification, and treatment options.

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Papers of particular interest, published recently, have been highlighted as: • Of importance •• Of major Importance

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Liver Diseases, Department of Medicine, Inova Fairfax Hospital, 3300 Gallows Road, Falls Church, VA, 22042, USA

    Brian Lam, Kyle Kurzke & Zobair Younossi

  2. Betty and Guy Beatty Center for Integrated Research, Inova Health System, Falls Church, VA, USA

    Brian Lam, Kyle Kurzke & Zobair Younossi

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Correspondence to Zobair Younossi.

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Conflict of Interest

Zobair Younossi consults, advises, and received grants from Gilead and Intercept. He consults for Bristol-Myers Squibb, Novo Nordisk, Sanofi, and Abbvie. Brian Lam and Kyle Kurzke each declare no potential conflict of interest.

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This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects performed by any of the authors.

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This article is part of the Topical Collection on Fatty Liver Disease

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Lam, B., Kurzke, K. & Younossi, Z. The Clinical and Economic Burden of Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis. Curr Hepatology Rep 17, 345–349 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11901-018-0423-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11901-018-0423-9

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