Alarming increase in liver disease caused by poor diet and lifestyle: doctors Premium

Globally, the prevalence of Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease is estimated to be around 25% (22%-28%), while the prevalence in Asia is around 27% (22% - 32%)

If alcohol consumption could impact the health of your liver, a sedentary lifestyle, a high calorie diet and excess fats associated with obesity and high blood sugar can be equally detrimental. That Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD), and its advanced form, Non-Alcoholic Steatohepatitis (NASH) cases are steadily rising is worrying doctors.

“We are used to hearing about alcohol-related liver damage; however, NAFLD is now steadily becoming a leading contributor to cirrhosis, liver transplantation, and mortality. It is extremely critical to educate the public on the fact that while excess alcohol causes damage to our liver, a sedentary lifestyle, overeating and a high calorie diet such as processed sugar is almost as bad as the damage from alcohol, making it an equal contributor to liver diseases today,” said N Murugan, Hepatologist and Transplant Physician, Apollo Hospitals.

Globally, the prevalence of NAFLD is estimated to be around 25% (22%-28%), while the prevalence in Asia is around 27% (22% - 32%), he said, adding: “However, we have seen the trend to be much higher in India with prevalence among adults at 39% and among children at 35%.”

“We have observed that among a cohort of over three lakh persons who underwent health checks at Apollo Hospitals in the last year - that includes both urban and rural population - 23% were found to have a fatty liver condition. Of these, three-quarters of the people did not have a history of consuming any alcohol, indicating that factors beyond alcohol consumption contribute significantly to this disease,” he wrote in an email.

NASH is an advanced form of NAFLD, R. Surendran, former director, Department of Surgical Gastroenterology, Government Stanley Medical College Hospital, pointed out. “Throughout the world, it is increasing at an alarming rate. About 6.5% of the total population had NAFLD irrespective of age and 20% of this has already gone into NASH. The prevalence of NASH will lead on to cirrhosis of liver and later, liver cancer,” he said.

He added that the difference between NAFLD and NASH was the presence of inflammation in the liver in NASH.

K. Premkumar, associate professor, Hepatology and director in-charge, Institute of Hepatobiliary Sciences, Madras Medical College and Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital, said that NASH was a wide spectrum of disease severity, including fibrosis, cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. “The global prevalence of NASH is estimated between two and six per cent in the general population,” he said.