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Review
. 2023 Jun 27;12(13):4316.
doi: 10.3390/jcm12134316.

COVID-19 and Fatty Liver Disorders

Maria Guarino  1 , Valentina Cossiga  1 , Francesco Maria Cutolo  1 , Maria Rosaria Attanasio  1 , Raffaele Lieto  1 , Filomena Morisco  1
Affiliations
Review

COVID-19 and Fatty Liver Disorders

Maria Guarino et al. J Clin Med. .

Abstract

In late 2019, the world was shaken by the COVID-19 pandemic. Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection became one of the main causes of illness and hospitalization worldwide, especially in subjects with metabolic comorbidities such as obesity, diabetes, or liver disease. This scenario crosses with the metabolic liver disorders' "pandemic", caused by the exponential spreading of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, which is now the most prevalent cause of chronic liver disease (CLD). The aim of this review is to analyze the key factors of the relationship between COVID-19 and the spectrum of fatty liver disorders (FLD), in terms of molecular mechanisms and clinical presentation which can predict a more severe course of the infection. In addition, this review will face the change in management of FLD during pandemics, with a central role of telemedicine, and the role of other interventions in preventing and treating severe infection in these subjects.

Keywords: COVID-19; MAFLD; NAFLD; fibrosis; obesity; telemedicine; vaccination.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Risk factors for COVID-19 severity in subjects with FLD. CXCL10: C-X-C motif chemokine ligand 10; IFN-γ: interferon-gamma; IL-1β: interleukin-1beta; IL-6: interleukin-6; IL-8: interleukin-8; LFN-COVID-19 index: liver fibrosis and nutrition COVID-19 index; MCP-1: monocyte chemoattractant protein-1; PDGF: platelet-derived growth factor; TGF- β: transforming growth factor-beta; TNFα: tumor necrosis factor-alpha, FIB-4: Fibrosis-4 index.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Management of COVID-19 in subjects with FLD. RT-PCR: real-time polymerase chain reaction, T2DM: type 2 diabetes mellitus, ECMO, extracorporeal membrane oxygenation. * Monitor liver blood tests.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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