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Copyright ©The Author(s) 2016. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Gastroenterol. Apr 28, 2016; 22(16): 4079-4090
Published online Apr 28, 2016. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v22.i16.4079
Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease as a multi-systemic disease
Hakan Fotbolcu, Elçin Zorlu
Hakan Fotbolcu, Department of Cardiology, Pendik BölgeHastanesi, Istanbul 34000, Turkey
Elçin Zorlu, Istanbul University, Forensic Science Institute, Istanbul 34000, Turkey
Author contributions: Fotbolcu H performed research and wrote the paper; Zorlu E critically revised the manuscript for important intellectual content.
Conflict-of-interest statement: No conflict of interest.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Correspondence to: Hakan Fotbolcu, MD, Department of Cardiology, Pendik BölgeHastanesi, Emek Caddesi, No. 281, Narcity Konutları, A 2b Blok, Kat 9 D 56, Maltepe, Istanbul 34000, Turkey. hakan_fotbolcu@yahoo.com
Telephone: +90-505-6882125 Fax: +90-216-3752212
Received: January 6, 2016
Peer-review started: January 6, 2016
First decision: January 28, 2016
Revised: February 2, 2016
Accepted: March 1, 2016
Article in press: March 2, 2016
Published online: April 28, 2016
Processing time: 104 Days and 4.8 Hours
Abstract

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the most common cause of chronic liver disease. NAFLD includes a wide spectrum of liver conditions ranging from simple steatosis to nonalcoholic steatohepatitis and advanced hepatic fibrosis. NAFLD has been recognized as a hepatic manifestation of metabolic syndrome linked with insulin resistance. NAFLD should be considered not only a liver specific disease but also an early mediator of systemic diseases. Therefore, NAFLD is usually associated with cardiovascular disease, chronic kidney disease, type 2 diabetes, obesity, and dyslipidemia. NAFLD is highly prevalent in the general population and is associated with increased cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. The underlying mechanisms and pathogenesis of NAFLD with regard to other medical disorders are not yet fully understood. This review focuses on pathogenesis of NAFLD and its relation with other systemic diseases.

Keywords: Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease; Obesity; Insulin resistance; Cardiovascular effect; Multi-systemic disease

Core tip: Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the most common cause of chronic liver disease. NAFLD has been recognized as a hepatic manifestation of metabolic syndrome linked with insulin resistance. NAFLD should be considered not only a liver specific disease but also an early mediator of systemic diseases. Therefore, NAFLD is usually associated with cardiovascular disease, chronic kidney disease, type 2 diabetes, obesity, and dyslipidemia. This review focuses on the pathogenesis of NAFLD and its relation with other systemic diseases.