Non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is a chronic and progressive liver disease, and is considered the progressive phenotype of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), the most prevalent chronic liver disease worldwide.
NASH is characterized by the accumulation of fat in the liver (steatosis), inflammation and liver damage, which can progress to high-burden conditions such as fibrosis, cirrhosis, and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).
An estimated 3%-7% of the adult population develop NASH, of which approximately 15%-20% progress to advanced fibrosis, namely bridging fibrosis (F3) or cirrhosis (F4).
NASH frequently progresses undetected due to the early nonspecific symptoms of the disease, leading to serious patient consequences, such as end-stage liver disease (ESLD), an increased need for liver transplantation (LT), and mortality.
al investigators observe a positive relationship between the increasing incidence of NAFLD and sedentary lifestyle habits. Validating this, the prevalence of NAFLD and NASH is reported to be 80-90% in obese adults, 30-50% in diabetic cases, and up to 90% in individuals with hyperlipidemia.
Further, common risk factors observed are male gender, age, obesity, insulin resistance, and the cardiometabolic alterations defining the metabolic syndrome.
The term ‘functional gastrointestinal disorder (FGID)’ is an umbrella term that describes variable combinations of chronic or recurrent gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms that lack an identified underlying pathophysiology.
Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is one of the most prevalent FGIDs; that displays the symptoms of gastrointestinal dysmotility and visceral hypersensitivity and always in the focus of gastroenterologists, because of their polymorphic symptomatology and insufficiently defined causes and habits that influence the appearance of FGD.
s the most common gastrointestinal disorder and the prevalence varies from 4-22% in the population based studies.
as significant impact on patients’ everyday activities and quality of life, inducing emotional distress because of their chronic symptoms. It also results in heavy economic burdensthrough direct medical expenses and loss of productivity.
