FATTY LIVER DISEASE

1. Context

2. Experiment Findings

3. Importance of Sleep

• A study of nearly 55,000 people from Europe showed that those who slept 7-8.5 hours daily had higher life expectancy than those who slept less than seven hours.
• In those between ages 50 and 75 without sleep disturbances, the expectation of living longer without chronic disease development was significantly higher.
• Yoga interventions improved overall sleep quality, efficiency, latency, and duration, contrary to all claims.

4. Healthy sleep

• Sleep is a vital function of human life and accounts for up to one third of the life span.
• Contrary to normal belied, during sleep, the brain is not 'resting' but is engaged in various activities necessary to improve wellbeing, increase life, and especially impact the liver.
• The minimum required duration for 'healthy' sleep in seven hours.
• When 10,000 persons with sleep disorders were followed up for one year, incident fatty liver disease was noted in 14, while in those without sleep disorders, it was only six.
• Non alcoholic fatty liver disease association was significantly higher among persons with shorter sleep duration (less than six hours per night) and excessive daytime sleepiness.
• A high quality study showed that inadequate sleep duration was strongly associated with an elevated risk of developing non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, and adequate sleep helped prevent it.
• With every one hour decrease in sleep time from the recommended seven eight hours, the risk of fat deposition in the liver increased by 24% compared with those who slept adequately.

5. Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease

• Non alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is an umbrella term for a range of liver conditions affecting people who drink little to no alcohol.
• The main characteristic of NAFLD is too much fat stored in liver cells.
• Early-stage NAFLD does not usually cause any harm however individuals with NAFLD can develop nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), an aggressive form of fatty liver disease, which is marked by liver inflammation and may progress to advanced scarring (cirrhosis) and liver failure.
• This damage is similar to the damage caused by heavy alcohol use.
• Having high levels of fat in the liver is also associated with an increased risk of serious health problems, such as diabetes, high blood pressure and kidney disease.
• Increase in NAFLD in diabetic patients will heighten the chances of developing heart problems.
• If detected and managed at an early stage, its possible to stop NAFLD getting worse and reduce the amount of fat in the liver.

6. Risks associated with Non alcoholic fatty liver diseases

• Over the last two decades, the global burden of NASH has more than doubled. NASH caused 40 lakh prevalent cases of compensated cirrhosis in 1990, which increased to 94 lakh cases in 2017.
• Epidemiological studies suggest that prevalence of NAFLD is around 9% to 32% of the general population in India with a higher prevalence in those with overweight or obesity and those with diabetes or prediabetes.
• Once the disease develops, there is no specific cure available, and health promotion and prevention aspects targeting weight reduction, healthy lifestyle, etc. can prevent the mortality and morbidity due to NAFLD.

7. Government Initiatives

• Aligning NPCDCS programme strategies to prevent and control NAFLD by encouraging behavior changes, early diagnosis and capacity building at various levels of healthcare.
• Promoting screening of cancer, diabetes and hypertension under Ayushman Bharat Scheme.
• Along with the focus of 'Eat Right India' and 'Fit India Movement', the entire vision of the government is to move from Diagnostic cure to Preventive Health.

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