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. 2014 Mar 24:1:4.
doi: 10.3389/fmed.2014.00004. eCollection 2014.

Knowing What's Out There: Awareness of Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease

Vishal Ghevariya  1 , Nan Sandar  1 , Kishor Patel  2 , Nehal Ghevariya  2 , Ruchit Shah  1 , Joshua Aron  1 , Sury Anand  2
Affiliations

Knowing What's Out There: Awareness of Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease

Vishal Ghevariya et al. Front Med (Lausanne). .

Abstract

Background: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the most common hepatic disorder, which poses a significant health burden in the western countries. As the epidemic of obesity slides health downward, the incidence of NAFLD is evidently increasing.

Aim: We aimed to ascertain the awareness of NAFLD and its risk factors in the general population, which may be helpful in designing educational tools to promote prevention, early detection, and treatment of this disorder.

Methods: A survey of 5000 non-institutionalized residents of Brooklyn, NY, USA was conducted. Sixteen items were included in the survey questionnaire including awareness of fatty liver, predisposing factors of NAFLD, awareness of cirrhosis, and conditions that advance to cirrhosis. The questionnaire also addressed awareness of prevention, diagnostic methods and treatment of NAFLD, and education of physicians to their patients about NAFLD.

Results: Overwhelming majority of the subjects was not aware of NAFLD and stated that their physicians did not have a discussion about NAFLD.

Conclusion: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease is a preventable liver disorder with limited treatment options. Thorough counseling by primary care physicians can be of paramount importance in preventive strategy for NAFLD. We should target our teenage population in an era of obesity epidemics of all times.

Keywords: cirrhosis; fatty liver; liver cancer; non-alcoholic fatty liver disease; steatohepatitis; steatosis.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Survey questionnaire. NAFLD, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Awareness of etiologies of NAFLD.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Survey response for (A) fatty liver is preventable. And (B) do you think fat in the liver can cause a serious health problem?
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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