Highlights
- •Metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) is novel terminology.
- •All people with type 2 diabetes and >5% hepatic fat content satisfy MAFLD criteria.
- •Quantitation of liver fat is increasingly by magnetic resonance (MR) techniques.
- •MR studies indicate a high prevalence of MAFLD and associated fibrosis in T2D.
- •Epidemiologic and treatment factors suggest a changing link between T2D and MAFLD.
Abstract
Metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) is a relatively novel
classification which downplays the importance of alcohol in the definition of non-alcoholic
fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and emphasizes the metabolic risk factors that underlie
progression of NAFLD-associated pathology. All people with type 2 diabetes (T2D) and
hepatic fat content >5% by biomarkers, imaging or biopsy are considered to have MAFLD.
Since there have been very few published studies of MAFLD in diabetes, the present
review assesses contemporary methods for quantifying liver fat and fibrosis (including
those based on magnetic resonance imaging) with special reference to T2D, their prognostic
implications for people with T2D and MAFLD, and the factors and interventions that
modify disease progression and outcomes. The changing epidemiology of obesity and
cardiovascular disease and new therapies for MAFLD on the horizon with potential implications
for T2D are discussed.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: August 13, 2021
Accepted:
August 10,
2021
Received in revised form:
August 8,
2021
Received:
May 3,
2021
Identification
Copyright
© 2021 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
