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AI-Generated response:

What is the prevalence of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis in children worldwide?

Answer generated on June 4, 2024

The AI-generated responses are for illustration purposes only and should not be used for medical purposes.

The global prevalence of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in children and adolescents is approximately 7.40%.[1]

  • The prevalence varies by region, with North America showing a prevalence of 8.53%, Asia at 7.01%, and Europe at 1.65%.[1]

  • Among obese and overweight children, the prevalence of NAFLD is significantly higher, at 52.49% and 39.17% respectively.[1]

  • The prevalence data is based on various diagnostic methods, including ultrasound, which specifically showed a prevalence of 8.77%.[1]

  • The rising prevalence of NAFLD in children is linked to increasing rates of obesity and overweight conditions.[1]

  • The study included data from 20 countries/regions, providing a comprehensive global perspective on the prevalence of pediatric NAFLD.[1]

Additional info

The increasing prevalence of NAFLD among children and adolescents underscores the importance of early intervention and targeted public health strategies to address obesity and overweight, which are significant risk factors for NAFLD. The data from the meta-analysis by Li et al. provides a crucial insight into the global burden of NAFLD in the pediatric population, highlighting the need for increased awareness and preventive measures in both clinical settings and public health policies.[1] This information is vital for healthcare providers to understand the scope of the problem and to implement appropriate screening and management strategies for at-risk populations.

References

Reference 1

1.

Li J, Ha A, Rui F, et al. Alimentary Pharmacology & Therapeutics. 2022;56(3):396-406. doi:10.1111/apt.17096.

Publish date: August 1, 2022.

BACKGROUND: NAFLD is increasing in children. AIMS: To determine the recent trend and forecast the future global prevalence of paediatric NAFLD METHODS: We searched PubMed, Embase, Web of Science and Cochrane library databases from inception to 1 May 2021 for studies of children and adolescents (≤21 years) with NAFLD. Obesity was defined with weight at ≥95th percentile and overweight as 85th to <95th percentile as per the Center for Disease Control BMI-for-age percentile cut-offs. RESULTS: From 3350 titles and abstracts, we included 74 studies (276,091 participants) from 20 countries/regions. We included 14 studies in the general NAFLD prevalence analysis, yielding an overall prevalence of 7.40% (95% CI: 4.17-12.81) regardless of the diagnostic method, and 8.77% (95% CI: 3.86-18.72) by ultrasound. Among continents with more than one study, the prevalence of NAFLD was 8.53% (95% CI: 5.71-12.55) for North America, 7.01% (95% CI: 3.51-13.53) for Asia, and 1.65% (95% CI: 0.97-2.80) for Europe. NAFLD prevalence regardless of the diagnostic method was 52.49% (95% CI: 46.23-58.68, 9159 participants) and 39.17% (95% CI: 30.65-48.42, 5371 participants) among obese and overweight/obese participants, respectively.

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