Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease: Metabolic, Genetic, Epigenetic and Environmental Risk Factors

Oriol Juanola, Sebastián Martínez-López, Rubén Francés and Isabel Gómez-Hurtado
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Oriol Juanola: Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Translational Research Laboratory, Ente Ospedaliero Cantonale, Università della Svizzera Italiana, 6900 Lugano, Switzerland
Sebastián Martínez-López: Clinical Medicine Department, Miguel Hernández University, 03550 San Juan de Alicante, Spain
Rubén Francés: Clinical Medicine Department, Miguel Hernández University, 03550 San Juan de Alicante, Spain
Isabel Gómez-Hurtado: Alicante Institute for Health and Biomedical Research (ISABIAL), Hospital General Universitario de Alicante, 03010 Alicante, Spain

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 10, 1-24

Abstract: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is one of the most frequent causes of chronic liver disease in the Western world, probably due to the growing prevalence of obesity, metabolic diseases, and exposure to some environmental agents. In certain patients, simple hepatic steatosis can progress to non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), which can sometimes lead to liver cirrhosis and its complications including hepatocellular carcinoma. Understanding the mechanisms that cause the progression of NAFLD to NASH is crucial to be able to control the advancement of the disease. The main hypothesis considers that it is due to multiple factors that act together on genetically predisposed subjects to suffer from NAFLD including insulin resistance, nutritional factors, gut microbiota, and genetic and epigenetic factors. In this article, we will discuss the epidemiology of NAFLD, and we overview several topics that influence the development of the disease from simple steatosis to liver cirrhosis and its possible complications.

Keywords: non-alcoholic fatty liver disease; non-alcoholic steatohepatitis; obesity; metabolic syndrome; type 2 diabetes mellitus (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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