The establishment of public health policies and the burden of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in the Americas

Luis Antonio Díaz, Eduardo Fuentes-López, Gustavo Ayares, Francisco Idalsoaga, Jorge Arnold, Andrea Márquez-Lomas, Carolina A. Ramírez, María Paz Medel, Francisca Viñuela, Lucas Lacalle, Juan Pablo Roblero, Catterina Ferreccio, Mariana Lazo, Mayur Brahmania, Ashwani K. Singal, Melisa Dirchwolf, Nahum Méndez-Sánchez, Norberto Chavez-Tapia, Patricia Guerra, Juan Carlos RestrepoClaudia P. Oliveira, Julissa Lombardo, Abel Sánchez, Martín Elizondo, Martín Tagle, Martín Padilla, Marco Sánchez, Enrique Carrera, Marcos Girala, Omega Chery, Marlen Castellanos-Fernández, Francisco Barrera, Jeffrey V. Lazarus, Patrick S. Kamath, Ramon Bataller, Marco Arrese, Juan Pablo Arab

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

Abstract

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) affects 20–25% of the general population and is associated with morbidity, increased mortality, and elevated health-care costs. Most NAFLD risk factors are modifiable and, therefore, potentially amenable to being reduced by public health policies. To date, there is no information about NAFLD-related public health policies in the Americas. In this study, we analysed data from 17 American countries and found that none have established national public health policies to decrease NAFLD-related burden. There is notable heterogeneity in the existence of public health policies to prevent NAFLD-related conditions. The most common public health policies were related to diabetes (15 [88%] countries), hypertension (14 [82%] countries), cardiovascular diseases (14 [82%] countries), obesity (nine [53%] countries), and dyslipidaemia (six [35%] of countries). Only seven (41%) countries had a registry of the burden of NAFLD, and efforts to raise awareness in the Americas were scarce. The implementation of public health policies are urgently needed in the Americas to decrease the burden of NAFLD.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)552-559
Number of pages8
JournalThe Lancet Gastroenterology and Hepatology
Volume7
Issue number6
DOIs
StatePublished - Jun 2022

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Hepatology
  • Gastroenterology

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'The establishment of public health policies and the burden of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in the Americas'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this