Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2022 Dec;56(11-12):1581-1590.
doi: 10.1111/apt.17233. Epub 2022 Sep 27.

Prevalence and clinical characteristics of patients with metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease with hepatitis C virus infection-a population-based study

Dina Attia  1 , Shereen Abdel Alem  2 , Wafaa El-Akel  2 , Wael Abdel-Razek  3 , Mohamed Eslam  4   5 , Yasser Fouad  6 , Imam Waked  7
Affiliations

Prevalence and clinical characteristics of patients with metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease with hepatitis C virus infection-a population-based study

Dina Attia et al. Aliment Pharmacol Ther. 2022 Dec.

Abstract

Background: Metabolic-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) was proposed in 2020 to identify fatty liver disease associated with metabolic risks. Metabolic abnormalities with hepatitis C virus (HCV) and MAFLD frequently co-exist. However, data on the co-existence are still lacking.

Aim: To explore the prevalence and characteristics of metabolic profiles among a large cohort of patients with HCV infection between 2007 and 2020 based on new diagnostic criteria METHODS: We recruited 288,222 patients with chronic HCV infection with demographic data, laboratory parameters, and ultrasound from a web-based registry of the National Committee for Control of Viral Hepatitis in Egypt from 2007 to 2020.

Results: Among the participants, 41.9% (95% CI: 41.69-42.05) met diagnostic criteria for MAFLD, with a significant increase in the period 2014-2020 compared to 2007-2013 (43.3% vs. 19%, respectively). Participants with MAFLD had a high prevalence of obesity, diabetes mellitus and hypertension. The prevalences increased significantly over time (obesity: 66.7% vs. 76.9%, p < 0.01; diabetes mellitus: 14.6% vs. 31.5%, p < 0.01; hypertension: 0.9% vs. 7.6%, p < 0.01; prediabetes: 28.8% vs. 25.9%, p < 0.01) for the periods 2007-2013 and 2014-2020, respectively. The percentage of advanced fibrosis by fibrosis-4 index (FIB-4) and NAFLD fibrosis score (NFS) was significantly higher in participants with MAFLD during 2014-2020 than during 2007-2013 (FIB-4; 18.4% vs. 8% and NFS; 17.1% vs. 7%).

Conclusion: MAFLD is highly prevalent in patients with HCV infection and has risen over time. This rising prevalence parallels the alarming rise in obesity, diabetes mellitus and hypertension. Early detection of metabolic dysfunction in patients with HCV infection is recommended to prevent MAFLD progression.

PubMed Disclaimer

Comment in

References

REFERENCES

    1. Younossi Z, Anstee QM, Marietti M, Hardy T, Henry L, Eslam M, et al. Global burden of NAFLD and NASH: trends, predictions, risk factors and prevention. Nat Rev Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2018;15(1):11-20.
    1. Chalasani N, Younossi Z. The diagnosis and management of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease: practice guidance from the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases. Hepatology. 2018;67(1):328-57.
    1. Kang SH, Cho Y, Jeong SW, Kim SU, Lee JW. From nonalcoholic fatty liver disease to metabolic-associated fatty liver disease: Big wave or ripple? Clin Mol Hepatol. 2021;27(2):257-69.
    1. Blach S, Zeuzem S, Manns M, Altraif I, Duberg AS, Muljono DH, et al. Global prevalence and genotype distribution of hepatitis C virus infection in 2015: a modelling study. Lancet Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2017;2(3):161-76.
    1. Adinolfi LE, Rinaldi L, Guerrera B, Restivo L, Marrone A, Giordano M, et al. NAFLD and NASH in HCV infection: prevalence and significance in hepatic and extrahepatic manifestations. Int J Mol Sci. 2016;17(6):803.

MeSH terms

LinkOut - more resources