Operational guidelines launched for integration of NAFLD with NPCDCS

New Delhi: With the objective to reduce the cases of live ailments, Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan has launched the integration of the Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD) with NPCDCS on Monday.

Speaking on the issue, Vardhan said, "The NAFLD, which is the abnormal accumulation of fat in the liver in the absence of secondary causes of fatty liver, is a serious health concern as it encompasses a spectrum of liver abnormalities from a simple non-alcoholic fatty liver (NAFL) to more advanced ones like non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), cirrhosis and even liver cancer."

"Over the last two decades global burden of NASH has more than doubled. Globally, NASH caused 40 lakh prevalent cases of compensated cirrhosis in 1990, which increased to 94 lakh cases in 2017. NAFLD is emerging as an important cause of liver disease in India," the minister stressed.

Underscoring the importance of tackling NAFLD as a step to tackle the country's burden of non-communicable diseases, he noted, "Epidemiological studies suggest the prevalence of NAFLD is around 9 per cent to 32 per cent of the general population in India with a higher prevalence in those with overweight or obesity and those with diabetes or prediabetes."

Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan, ILBS Director Dr SK Sarin, and other senior officials of health ministry were also present on the occasion.