Key Summary
- Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease cases are rising fast and could reach 1.8 billion by 2050.
- Risk is linked to obesity, smoking and high blood sugar, with younger people increasingly affected.
- Experts say simple lifestyle changes can help prevent or slow the disease.
A Lancet study has forecast that the number of metabolic liver disease patients across the world would go up nearly 42 percent from the current levels.
The study “Global burden of metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease, 1990–2023, and projections to 2050: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2023,” evaluated the growth of metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD), previously known as non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, in 204 countries from 1990 to 2023.
It points out that smoking, high body mass index (BMI) or obesity, and high fasting plasma or high blood sugar levels glucose are the risk factors contributing to the disease.
The Guardian has reported that in the UK, the prevalence rate of MASLD between 1990 and 2023 has increased by 33 percent, the biggest rise in western Europe.
According to the study, nearly 1.3 billion people in the world have MASLD since 2023, 142.7 per cent rise from 1990, and it will be 1.8 billion by 2050, a 42 per cent increase from now.
Another factor of alarm is that MASLD is common among younger men between the age group 0f 25 to 39 years and for women it peaks between 55 and 59 years.
Fatigue, feeling generally unwell, liver pain or uneasiness felt below the right side of the ribs, etc. are some of the common symptoms.
Healthy lifestyle changes can reduce the build-up of fat in the liver and help repair any damage or stop it getting worse.
