- 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.