Commentary
Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is part of a systemic disease that affects many other parts of the body. The association between MAFLD (metabolic (dysfunction)-associated fatty liver disease) and extra-hepatic diseases is not known. The aim of the cross-sectional study by DQ Sun et al. was to compare the prevalence of chronic kidney disease (CKD) in patients with either MAFLD or NAFLD, and to examine the association between the presence and severity of MAFLD and CKD and abnormal albuminuria.
12,571 individuals from the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (1988-1994) were included in the analysis. The prevalence of MAFLD and NAFLD was 30.2 and 36.2%, respectively.
The key findings were that MAFLD individuals had a lower eGFR and a greater prevalence of CKD than NAFLD individuals. In addition, there was a higher prevalence of CKD in MAFLD than in non-metabolic dysfunction-associated NAFLD. The severity of MAFLD was associated with 1.34-fold higher risk of prevalent CKD.
