Commentary
S. A. Harrison et al. (Radcliffe Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, UK) prospectively assessed the prevalence and severity of NAFLD/NASH in a cohort of asymptomatic middle-aged Americans attending a colonoscopy class at a gastroenterology clinic.
Screening for NAFLD was performed using magnetic resonance (MR)-based LiverMultiScan(R) proton density fat fraction. Liver stiffness measurement included corrected T1, elastography, and FibroScan. Liver biopsy has been proposed to assess NASH when abnormal imaging parameters where detected.
This study establishes an overall prevalence of NAFLD of 38% and NASH by biopsy of 14% in this cohort of asymptomatic middle-aged US adults. While no patient had cirrhosis on biopsy, significant fibrosis was present in 5.9% and bridging fibrosis in 1.6%.
