Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease, Atherosclerosis, and Cardiovascular Disease in Asia

Abstract

The prevalence of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is estimated to increase to over half of the adult population by 2040 globally. Since the final diagnosis of NAFLD is made by a liver biopsy, several non-invasive approaches have been developed and validated to define NAFLD and evaluate NAFLD-associated diseases. Presently, NAFLD has been identified as an important and independent risk factor for developing several extrahepatic diseases, including atherosclerosis, cardiovascular disease (CVD), diabetes, and dementia. This review discusses current findings of up-to-date literature regarding the effects of NAFLD on the risk of atherosclerosis and CVD in Asia along with potential underlying biological mechanisms and therapeutic approaches to lower the NAFLD-related CVD risk. We further focus on the difference between NAFLD and metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) on the risk of CVD and its implication by comparing the risk of NAFLD and MAFLD.