Commentary
It is estimated that around 70% of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus patients (T2DM) have NAFLD. Awareness and education are major shortcomings of the public health response to the increasing threat of NAFLD. Characterising the specific NAFLD-related information needs of particular high-risk metabolic communities might aid in the development of evidence-based health promotion strategies.
Semi-structured interviews with T2DM patients were conducted by M. Alemany-Pages et al. (University of Coimbra, Portugal) to gain insight into their awareness of NAFLD.
Their findings indicate that awareness of NAFLD, its progression to end-stage liver disease or its relationship with other metabolic conditions, is low.
Rising awareness on NAFLD progression and its relationship with T2DM using culturally and community-relevant constructs might facilitate the development of primary and secondary prevention programmes by influencing NAFLD threat perceptions.
