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
Review
. 2023 Feb;29(Suppl):S32-S42.
doi: 10.3350/cmh.2022.0365. Epub 2022 Dec 14.

Global incidence and prevalence of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease

Margaret Lp Teng  1   2 , Cheng Han Ng  2 , Daniel Q Huang  1   2   3 , Kai En Chan  2 , Darren Jh Tan  2 , Wen Hui Lim  2 , Ju Dong Yang  4 , Eunice Tan  1   2   3 , Mark D Muthiah  1   2   3
Affiliations
Review

Global incidence and prevalence of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease

Margaret Lp Teng et al. Clin Mol Hepatol. 2023 Feb.

Abstract

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a leading cause of liver disease worldwide. The estimated global incidence of NAFLD is 47 cases per 1,000 population and is higher among males than females. The estimated global prevalence of NAFLD among adults is 32% and is higher among males (40%) compared to females (26%). The global prevalence of NAFLD has increased over time, from 26% in studies from 2005 or earlier to 38% in studies from 2016 or beyond. The prevalence of NAFLD varies substantially by world region, contributed by differing rates of obesity, and genetic and socioeconomic factors. The prevalence of NAFLD exceeds 40% in the Americas and South-East Asia. The prevalence of NAFLD is projected to increase significantly in multiple world regions by 2030 if current trends are left unchecked. In this review, we discuss trends in the global incidence and prevalence of NAFLD and discuss future projections.

Keywords: Epidemiology; Incidence; Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease; Prevalence.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflicts of Interest

The authors have no conflicts to disclose.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Estimated incidence of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. Data for China, Hong Kong, Japan, and South Korea was obtained from Li et al. [10] and Riazi et al. [3]. Data for Israel was obtained from Riazi et al. [3] and Younossi et al. [9]. NAFLD, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Estimated prevalence of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Data for Iran, China, Taiwan, South Korea, Europe (Turkey, Italy, Germany, Portugal, Spain), North America (USA), and Egypt was obtained from Riazi et al. [3]. Data for South America was obtained from Le et al. [12]. Data for South Asia (India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka) and Southeast Asia (Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore) was obtained from Li et al. [10]. Data for Japan was obtained from Li et al. [10] and Riazi et al. [3]. Data for Sudan was obtained from Younossi et al. [9]. Data for Australia was obtained from population-based studies by Farrell et al. [55] and Roberts et al. [54].
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
Estimated projections for the prevalence of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Data was obtained from Estes et al. [58,59,61]. Data for Saudi Arabia was obtained from Alswat et al. [60], data for Canada was obtained from Swain et al. [62], and data for Australia was obtained from Adams et al. [63].
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Cheemerla S, Balakrishnan M. Global epidemiology of chronic liver disease. Clin Liver Dis (Hoboken) 2021;17:365–370. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Chalasani N, Younossi Z, Lavine JE, Charlton M, Cusi K, Rinella M, et al. The diagnosis and management of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease: practice guidance from the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases. Hepatology. 2018;67:328–357. - PubMed
    1. Riazi K, Azhari H, Charette JH, Underwood FE, King JA, Afshar EE, et al. The prevalence and incidence of NAFLD worldwide: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Lancet Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2022;7:851–861. - PubMed
    1. GBD 2015 Obesity Collaborators Health effects of overweight and obesity in 195 countries over 25 years. N Engl J Med. 2017;377:13–27. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Stefan N, Cusi K. A global view of the interplay between nonalcoholic fatty liver disease and diabetes. Lancet Diabetes Endocrinol. 2022;10:284–296. - PubMed