Be vigilant for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in primary care

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is now the most common cause of chronic liver disease in the Western world. Between 10 and 30% of NAFLD patients will develop non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) with a risk of progression to cirrhosis. Of those with NASH and fibrosis at presentation, studies have suggested that approximately 21% of patients will have some regression of fibrosis while 38% of patients will progress over five years’ follow-up.