Prevalence of Fatty Liver Disease and Fibrosis Detected by Transient Elastography in Adults in the United States, 2017-2018

Abstract

Fatty liver disease is a clinicopathologic spectrum that encompasses simple steatosis, steatohepatitis, advanced fibrosis, and cirrhosis. Transient elastography has evolved as an accurate technique and noninvasive tool for assessing hepatic fibrosis in clinical practice.¹ The controlled attenuation parameter (CAP) score has been added to elastography, which computes ultrasound attenuation related to hepatic steatosis and improves the measurement of hepatic steatosis.^1,2 Given the unmet need to reckon the current burden of disease, it is essential to estimate the recent prevalence of fatty liver disease and fibrosis assessed by transient elastography in the United States. We investigated the sex-, race/ethnicity-, and body mass index-based prevalence of fatty liver disease and hepatic fibrosis by CAP-enhanced transient elastography in the United States.