Commentary
NAFLD has been reported to be associated with extrahepatic manifestations such as cardiovascular disease, T2DM, chronic kidney disease, extrahepatic malignancies, endocrine diseases, obstructive sleep apnea, and iron overload.
Current data define a more complex relationship between NAFLD and T2DM than was previously believed, underlining a bidirectional and mutual association between the two entities. This review by CM Muzica et al. (Grigore T. Popa University of Medicine and Pharmacy and St. Spiridon Emergency Hospital, Iasi, Romania) aims to summarise the current literature regarding the incidence of T2DM among patients with NAFLD and the prevalence of NAFLD in T2DM patients, highlighting the recent key studies.
The components of NAFLD lead to insulin resistance and T2DM through various physiopathological pathways, and T2DM may promote the progression to NASH as an independent risk factor. Thus, clinicians should be aware of these NAFLD-related extrahepatic manifestations considering that an early acknowledgement of T2DM is the key point in the management of these patients.
