Prevalence estimation of significant fibrosis because of NASH in Spain combining transient elastography and histology

Abstract

Background & Aims: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) has become a major public health problem, but the prevalence of fibrosis associated with non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is largely unknown in the general population. This study aimed to provide an updated estimation of the prevalence of NASH fibrosis in Spain. Methods: This was an observational, retrospective, cross-sectional, population-based study with merged data from two Spanish datasets: a large (N = 12 246) populationbased cohort (ETHON), including transient elastography (TE) data, and a contemporary multi-centric biopsy-proven NASH cohort with paired TE data from tertiary centres (N = 501). Prevalence for each NASH fibrosis stage was estimated by crossing TE data from ETHON dataset with histology data from the biopsy-proven cohort.