Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease and Implications for Older Adults with Diabetes

Alessandro Mantovani; Giovanni Targher; Giacomo Zoppini

doi:10.1016/j.cger.2020.04.010

Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease and Implications for Older Adults with Diabetes

Clin Geriatr Med. 2020 Aug;36(3):527-547. doi: 10.1016/j.cger.2020.04.010. Epub 2020 Apr 17.

Authors

Alessandro Mantovani¹, Giovanni Targher¹, Giacomo Zoppini²

Affiliations

¹ Section of Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolism, University and Azienda Ospedaliera Universitaria Integrata of Verona, Verona, Italy.
² Section of Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolism, University and Azienda Ospedaliera Universitaria Integrata of Verona, Verona, Italy. Electronic address: giacomo.zoppini@univr.it.

PMID: 32586479
DOI: 10.1016/j.cger.2020.04.010

Abstract

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is common in older patients with type 2 diabetes. In older patients with type 2 diabetes, the presence of NAFLD is associated with a higher risk of hepatic (eg, nonalcoholic steatohepatitis, cirrhosis, and hepatocellular carcinoma) and extrahepatic (eg, cardiovascular disease, sarcopenia, and dementia) complications than that observed in other patient groups. For this reason, appropriate identification and management of NAFLD are clinically relevant particularly in the group of older patients with type 2 diabetes. In this regard, clinicians should consider the peculiar characteristics of elderly patients, such as frailty, multimorbidity, and polypharmacy.

Keywords: Diabetes; Elderly; NAFLD; NASH; Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease; Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis; Type 2 diabetes.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Age Factors
Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Aging / physiology*
Dementia
Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / epidemiology*
Female
Frailty*
Humans
Male
Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease / epidemiology*
Sarcopenia