A recent report released in the journal Pediatrics has shown that cases of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) have increased among children over the last several years.
For the study, annual rates of NAFLD were measured from the beginning of 2009 through the end of 2018.
Conducted by the Southern California Permanente Medical Group, more than 7,500,000 patients were evaluated.
The study uncovered that from 2009 to 2018 the incidence of NAFLD had increased considerably in 2009 through 2018 in children.
“Health care systems and physicians will need to prepare for these growing numbers of children with chronic liver disease,” the co-authors stated in a news release.
“The identification of all children with NAFLD would require improvement in screening practices as well as the evaluation of elevated ALT levels uncovered by screening.”
NAFLD is a common disease affecting millions in the U.S., in which most cases do cause any symptoms.
