https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0613-5534
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Abstract
Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is currently the most common form of chronic liver disease. The growing prevalence of NAFLD is strongly associated with the high incidence of metabolic syndrome. NAFLD affects as much as 19% of the US population with a disproportionate impact on minority racial groups such as Asian Americans. If not promptly managed, NAFLD may progress to more feared complications. Liver indices for NAFLD screening have been proposed but were often developed using study populations with different anthropometrics than patients of East Asian descent. This review compares the accuracy of five indices for NAFLD screening in Asian cohorts. The Fatty Liver Index performed well in multiple large-scale community studies, although other indices may be more suited for specific patient cohorts. This is important, as the utilization of liver indices could accelerate screening for NAFLD for early management and to reduce liver disease-related health disparities among Asian Americans.
Disclaimer
The views and opinions presented here represent those of the authors and should not be considered to represent advice or guidance on behalf of the US FDA.
Financial & competing interests disclosure
This work was partly supported by the CTSA (UL1TR002649 from the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences) and the CCTR Endowment Fund of Virginia Commonwealth University. YM Roman is an employee of the US FDA. The authors have no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript apart from those disclosed.
No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.