Metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease and chronic hepatitis B

Abstract

Fatty liver disease and chronic hepatitis B (CHB) are the major causes for chronic liver diseases and the associated adverse outcomes. Concurrent hepatic steatosis has been found to inversely correlate with hepatitis B virus (HBV) activity both in vivo and in vitro; however, the subsequent effects on the prognosis, including advanced fibrosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) development, remain diverse and inconclusive. Although the newly-proposed criteria of metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) help raise disease awareness and facilitate timely diagnosis and management, its clinical impact on patients with CHB, especially after taking the metabolic dysfunction into consideration, is largely unknown and warrants comprehensive investigations to improve the management of CHB population. In this review, these relevant issues are summarized and discussed.

Keywords: Hepatitis B virus (HBV); Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC); Liver fibrosis; Metabolic syndrome; Steatosis.