Comparison of MAFLD and NAFLD Characteristics in Children

An international panel proposed a diagnostic framework for metabolic-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) in children. The aim was to compare the clinical features of MAFLD and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in children.

The characteristic differences between NAFLD and MAFLD in children were compared with the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2017-2018 in the U.S. and the Comprehensive Prevention Project for Overweight and Obese Adolescents (CPOOA) study in China.

In NHANES 2017-2018, regardless of which criteria were implemented, participants with hepatic steatosis were more likely to have higher BMI z-scores, a higher prevalence of hypertension or higher metabolic indices and higher non-invasive liver fibrosis scores (all p < 0.05). The cases diagnosed by those two definitions had a similarity of over 75%. More obese children were diagnosed with MAFLD than NAFLD (p < 0.001). However, approximately 19% of children with NAFLD present with normal weight and fasting glucose levels and cannot be diagnosed with MAFLD. The CPOOA study excluded viral infected liver disease and certain kinds of congenital causes of liver steatosis patients, resulting in children with NAFLD being identical with MAFLD children.

Most clinical features were similar between children with MAFLD and children with NAFLD, and more than 75% of children with NAFLD can also be diagnosed with MAFLD. However, approximately 19% of children with NAFLD cannot be categorized as MAFLD. Therefore, to gain greater benefits from renaming NAFLD to MAFLD in pediatrics, the prevalence of different causes of hepatic steatosis in children needs to be understood.