A new study by researchers at the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California has identified factors that increase the risk of death in people with fatty liver disease, known as MASLD, metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease.
The study findings were published in the journal Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology.
MASLD develops when fat builds up in the liver and is often accompanied by other problems, such as obesity, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, and low levels of “good” cholesterol known as high-density lipoproteins (HDL).
Based on an analysis of data from nearly 134,500 people age 20 and older, of whom about 21,000 had MASLD, the researchers identified three particularly dangerous concomitant diseases.
. High blood pressure is associated with a greater than 40% increased risk of death in people with MASLD.
. Prediabetes, or established type 2 diabetes, increases the risk by about 25%.
. Low levels of HDL cholesterol increase the risk of death by about 15%.
The researchers added that each additional metabolic risk factor—such as obesity, high blood pressure, bad cholesterol, etc.—increases the risk of death by another 15%. This means that the combination of factors considerably worsens the prognosis.
Another important point: the study showed that of these three, high blood pressure is the first and most dangerous, which was unexpected; until now, many considered diabetes to be the most important factor.
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