Metabolic-associated fatty liver disease from childhood to adulthood: State of art and future directions

Abstract

In 2020, an international group of experts proposed to replace the term of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease with metabolic-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD). This recent proposal reflects the close association of fatty liver with metabolic derangements, as demonstrated by previous robust data. Several factors [including genetics, inflammation, metabolic abnormalities, insulin resistance (IR), obesity, prenatal determinants, and gut–liver axis] have been found to be involved in MAFLD pathophysiology, but this tangled puzzle remains to be clearly understood. In particular, IR has been recognized as a key player in metabolic impairments development in children with fatty liver. On this ground, MAFLD definition focuses on the pathophysiological basis of the disease, by emphasizing the crucial role of metabolic impairments in this condition. Although primarily developed for adults, MAFLD diagnostic criteria have been recently updated with an age-appropriate definition for sex and age percentiles, because of the increasing attention to cardiometabolic risk in childhood. To date, accumulating evidence is available on the feasibility of MAFLD definition in clinical practice, but some data are still conflicting in highly selected populations. Considering the growing prevalence worldwide of fatty liver and its close relationship with metabolic dysfunction both in children and adults with subsequent increased cardiovascular risk, early strategies for MAFLD identification, treatment and prevention are needed. Novel therapeutic insights for MAFLD based on promising innovative biological techniques are also emerging. We aimed to summarize the most recent evidence in this intriguing research area both in children and adults.

Keywords: Metabolic; dysfunction; Fatty; Liver; Pathophysiology; Cardiovascular; Risk; Adults; Children

Core tip: Recently, experts have proposed to rename nonalcoholic fatty liver disease as metabolic-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD), by emphasizing the close association of fatty liver with the metabolic milieu. Given that, a growing number of studies have tested the effectiveness of the new definition in adults and children, although evidence in this latter population is still limited. However, expanding knowledge about MAFLD and its pathophysiology is crucial for a better identification of subjects at greater metabolic risk.