NAFLD Prevalence Increasing in Pediatric Patients

Last week, a new investigation confirmed a higher prevalence of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in pediatric patients than previously thought.The data was part of the ongoing observational study called TARGET-NASH, which included participants with NAFLD and/or alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH).The study, which included 660 pediatric patients, cited an increase in liver disease following evaluation of alanine aminotransferase.Notably, pediatric patients with greater than 250 U/L ATL had an eight-fold greater risk of developing cirrhosis.For this episode of DocTalk, Miriam Vos, MD, MSPH, Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, Emory University, sat down with assistant managing editor Kenny Walter to discuss the data from TARGET-NASH as well as the implications of NAFLD in pediatric patients.