Health related quality of life in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Health-related quality of life in patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD)
IRAS ID
168471
Contact name
Emmanuel Tsochatzis
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust
Duration of Study in the UK
3 years, 0 months, 1 days
Research summary
The prevalence of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) varies depending on the population studied and on the diagnostic criteria being used and it ranges between 20-35%. The prevalence of the progressive form of the disease in terms of liver histology, namely non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), is lower ranging from 3-5%. Steatohepatiits is a histological diagnosis characterised by fat accumulation through the liver together with inflammation. Considering that obesity, which is considered a major risk factor of NAFLD, is increasing, the prevalence of NAFLD is expected to become higher. Patients with NAFLD have increased overall mortality compared to general population and the most common cause of death is cardiovascular disease. Moreover, patients with NASH have a high risk for liver-related death considering that they can exhibit histological progression to cirrhosis (the end-stage of all chronic liver diseases where normal liver tissue is replaced by scar tissue). Patients with NAFLD and advanced fibrosis and/or cirrhosis have a high risk for hepatocellular carcinoma, although this risk is estimated to be lower than the risk in patients with chronic hepatitis C. Quality of life (QoL) is not well documented in NAFLD in general, whereas there are no data in the UK population; however, health-related QoL is a very important tool in public policy design and health technology assessment and is used by NICE in informing its recommendations. There is a number of validated questionnaires for assessing the health-related QoL, such as the Short Form 36 (SF-36) and the EQ-5D, while the Chronic Liver Disease Questionnaire (CLDQ) has been specifically developed for patients with chronic liver disease.
REC name
West Midlands - Edgbaston Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
15/WM/0109
Date of REC Opinion
23 Apr 2015
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion