Gujarat: Beware! Cases of fatty liver diseases on the rise in city

Patients suffering from Type II diabetes are at a higher risk of contracting liver cirrhosis due to increasing prevalence of Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD), data collected by a city-based hospital shows.

Narayana Multi-specialty Hospital said that it has received around 500 cases of liver ailments in the past one year of which 50% of the patients were already suffering from Type II diabetes. It said that these patients were at a higher risk of contracting liver cirrhosis. Most of the patients were in the age group of 40 to 60 years.

It said that people of the city are more vulnerable to liver ailments and failures owing to the high prevalence of Type II diabetes. A study was done in south Gujarat and published in the Journal of Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences also shows that there are now higher incidences of NAFLD in such patients. A 2017 study published in International Journal of Research in Medical Sciences suggests that around 9-32% of general population in India suffers from NAFLD, and that its prevalence has doubled in the last 20 years.

According to reports, abo-ut 10 lakh patients are being diagnosed with liver cirrhosis every year in the country. The primary reasons of the incidence of the disease are alcohol abuse and NAFLD.

"Liver cirrhosis occurs when there is an irreversible scarring of the liver and a permanent loss of liver cells. The incidence of diabetes and fatty liver disease together is deadly as it makes a patient resistant to insulin apart from unleashing other complications," Dr Nirav Vakani, consultant, Gastroenterology-Surgical, at the hospital said.

He warned that the disease is getting more common in younger people as the country grapples with obesity and other lifestyle-related ailments.