Risk Scores for Prediction of Major Cardiovascular Events in Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease: A No Man's Land?

• Published in: Life (Basel, Switzerland) Vol. 13; no. 4; p. 857
• Main Authors: Gheorghe, Liliana, Nemteanu, Roxana, Clim, Andreea, Botnariu, Gina Eosefina, Costache, Irina Iuliana, Plesa, Alina
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 23.03.2023; MDPI
• Subjects: Arteriosclerosis; Atherosclerosis; biopsy-free risk scores; Cardiovascular diseases; cardiovascular risk; Chronic illnesses; Complications and side effects; Developed countries; Diabetes; Fatty liver; Fibrosis; Health aspects; Heart; Heart diseases; Hepatology; Homeostasis; Homocysteine; Liver; Liver diseases; Medical research; Medical screening; Medicine, Experimental; Metabolism; Methods; Morbidity; Mortality; non-alcoholic fatty liver disease; Obesity; Overweight; Review; Risk factors; Romania; Trends; Type 2 diabetes; Romania; biopsy-free risk scores; non-alcoholic fatty liver disease; cardiovascular risk
• ISSN: 2075-1729; 2075-1729
• DOI: 10.3390/life13040857

Over the past 100 years, cardiovascular disease (CVD) has become a leading cause of mortality and morbidity in developed countries, and similar trends have occurred for chronic liver disease. Subsequent research also indicated that people with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) had a twofold increased risk of CV events and that this risk was doubled in those with liver fibrosis. However, no validated CVD risk score specific for NAFLD patients has yet been validated, as traditional risk scores tend to underestimate the CV risk in NAFLD patients. From a practical perspective, identifying NAFLD patients and assessing severity of liver fibrosis when concurrent atherosclerotic risk factors are already established may serve as an important criterion in new CV risk scores. The current review aims to assess current risk scores and their utility for the prediction of CV events among patients with NAFLD.