More than 15 million people across the US, UK, Germany and France are unknowingly living with metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH), the most aggressive form of fatty liver disease, according to new research.
The study, published in the Lancet Regional Health Europe, reveals that whilst approximately 20 million people in these four countries have MASH, only 2.5 million have received a diagnosis. This leaves over three-quarters of sufferers unaware of their condition.
The findings show that just under three per cent of people in the UK, France and Germany, and four per cent of Americans have MASH, yet diagnosis rates remain below 18 per cent.
MASH causes liver scarring and can progress to cirrhosis, with increased risks of cardiovascular disease, chronic kidney disease and liver cancer.
The condition affects people who consume little or no alcohol
GETTY
The condition affects people who consume little or no alcohol but have livers containing more than five per cent fat.
Dr Ibrahim Hanouneh, a gastroenterologist and hepatologist specialising in liver disease, warned: "The problem is that it is a silent disease until too late in the game."
He explained that patients may develop liver cirrhosis or cancer before experiencing noticeable symptoms.
Around two-thirds of people with type 2 diabetes are believed to have the condition, which is also linked to obesity and heart disease.
Early symptoms can be difficult to detect. Kristin Kirkpatrick, a dietitian at the Cleveland Clinic Department of Wellness & Preventive Medicine, noted that patients often present with fatigue and skin problems in the initial stages.
"It's not going to give you a lot of hard signs in the first few stages, you can go a long time without experiencing some of the most aggressive symptoms," she said.
The international research team has called for diagnosis rates to be doubled from 2022 levels.
They recommend screening for everyone with type 2 diabetes, those with obesity combined with additional risk factors, and people with persistently elevated liver enzymes.
Dr Jeffrey Lazarus, lead author and professor of global health, warned: "Undiagnosed MASH costs economies billions of pounds in lost productivity and poor health.
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS
Doctors recommend screening for everyone with type 2 diabetes
GETTY
"Unless diagnosis rates are doubled, alongside similar increases in treatment and care, direct health costs alone are predicted to triple over the next 20 years."
The research has prompted calls for weight loss medications to be utilised in treatment. Dr Paul Brennan, co-author and hepatologist at NHS Tayside, said GLP-1 drugs like Wegovy and Mounjaro "offer the potential to resynchronise our metabolism" through weight loss effects that could reduce liver scar tissue formation.
A separate study found that the diabetes drug dapagliflozin can reduce liver fat and fibrosis.
Most Read
