Knowledge and practices related to non-alcoholic fatty liver disease among university students in Bangladesh

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a growing public health concern associated with obesity, diabetes, and metabolic syndromes. However, awareness and preventive behaviors remain understudied among young adults in low- and middle-income countries. This cross-sectional study assesses knowledge, attitudes, and practices related to NAFLD. This study is carried out among 343 university students (predominantly undergraduate students, mean age 24.6 years) at the Islamic University of Technology(IUT), Bangladesh. Even with 76.1% awareness, knowledge was very poor (39.1%) or moderate (40.2%). This shows significant gaps in understanding risk factors, treatment, prevention, and a strong dependence on informal information sources. Knowledge was particularly associated with age, region, and educational level. Preventive measures were extremely low, with only 11.1% followed by dieting restrictions and 31.2% making lifestyle changes. In an exploratory analysis limited to the 59 students who self-reported a prior NAFLD diagnosis (a figure likely inflated by over-reporting and not clinically confirmed), nearly half (47.5%) showed poor management practices. These findings reveal significant gaps in NAFLD literacy and health behaviors among university students in Bangladesh. This underscores the urgent need for institution-based and evidence-based educational programs and awareness campaigns to promote early prevention and effective self management of NAFLD.