Adults in their 30s are at risk of developing metabolic-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) due to metabolic changes in the body, according to health experts.
Angelo Lozada, president of the Hepatology Society of the Philippines, said that individuals could develop fatty liver due to the metabolic syndrome or the accumulation of other risk factors, such as hypertension, diabetes, and obesity.
“So mostly in the age group around, when it starts around 30s, then that’s the target age where you (individuals) see all of these different populations that have starting metabolic disease,” he stated during a round table discussion on fatty liver disease among Filipinos last October 26.
“People tend to focus on, for example, their hypertension or their cholesterol, but they tend to forget that these things can actually have an effect on the liver, which is making it fatty,” he added.
Some adults within this age bracket already suffer from high cholesterol, sugar and triglycerides, according to Lozada.
They could also get MAFLD due to genetics.
However, individuals could develop a fatty liver even if they were not consuming little to no amount of alcohol.
Nikunj Thakker, the global general manager of Essentiale under Opella/Sanofi Consumer Healthcare, pointed out that the misattribution to alcohol as the only cause of MAFLD, which was previously known as non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, leads to developing the illness.
“The misconception over here is that because you don’t see symptoms outright or you’re not able to associate them…So it gets late until you’re actually diagnosed, where it gets too late for you to act or reverse it,” he said.
Lozada said that the effects of fatty liver come out after two to three decades, which may lead to complications like cirrhosis, liver failure, and liver cancer.
“You can go on for decades with a fatty liver without having any symptoms at all. Usually, when you have liver failure or have complications such as those, that’s when you have the symptoms already. And we already considered it late,” he stated.
He added that 20% of individuals with MAFLD could suffer from complications in the future.
MAFLD was considered a “silent disease” since it has no noticeable symptoms in its early stages and develops through time.
However, some people with MAFLD may experience fatigue, discomfort in the upper right side of their abdomen, and weight loss.
MAFLD may also increase the chance of individuals to develop other complications, such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes.
Health experts were alarmed by this health concern in the country as cases of obesity among Filipinos increased.
Jose Sollano Jr., a medicine professor at the University of Santo Tomas, highlighted that the Filipino diet, which is high in carbohydrates and salt, and the lack of physical activities increased the risk of developing a fatty liver.
“The tendency for less exercise and more eating drives people to be obese, and the basic substrate of fatty liver is obesity,” he said.
According to the 2024 Global Liver Health Report, about 27 million Filipinos are overweight or obese, doubling the numbers in the past two decades.
However, individuals who have lean body structure are still prone to risks of fatty liver.
According to Thakker, individuals were getting fatty liver at a younger age.
“We’re talking about one interesting fact where 45 was the average age where we would see fatty liver. And as scary as it gets, the average age has gone down, and now it’s 39,” he said.
How to prevent fatty liver disease
Health experts advised the public to undergo early screening for effective management and protection of MAFLD.
Lozada emphasized that lifestyle modification served as the main treatment for developing fatty liver.
He said that Filipinos should eat foods with fewer calories and do more physical activities, like exercising for at least 30 minutes per day.
According to a 2023 study on liver diseases, 10% to 20% of the population and at least 18 million Filipinos were at risk or suffering from fatty liver disease in 2018.
Sollano said that the current statistics of Filipinos with fatty liver disease range from 10% to about 18%.