Abstract
Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) has quickly become the most common chronic liver disease in children in many countries around the world. Estimates in Europe range from 1.3% to 22.5% of children being affected.
In the United States, 9.6% of all children and 38.0% of obese adolescents are estimated to have NAFLD. In China, 45% of obese adolescents are estimated to have NAFLD.
Certain populations have notable predisposition; for example, in the United States, the highest prevalence is found in Mexican Americans. Children have the full range of disease severity from mild steatosis alone to steatohepatitis with fibrosis to end-stage cirrhosis.
In both the United States and Europe, fibrosis was observed in approximately 70% of biopsied pediatric NAFLD cases. Early stage fibrosis (stages 0-1) was observed frequently and advanced fibrosis (stages 2-4) was found in 16%-31% of children with NAFLD who underwent liver biopsy.