Sarcopenia and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease: Is there a relationship? A systematic review

AIM: To perform a systematic review to evaluate the incidence and prevalence of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in adult patients with sarcopenia. METHODS: Randomized clinical trials, cross-sectional or cohort studies including adult patients (over 18 years) with sarcopenia were selected. The primary outcomes of interest were the prevalence or incidence of NAFLD in sarcopenic patients. In the screening process, 44 full-text articles were included in the review and 41 studies were excluded. RESULTS: Three cross-sectional studies were included. The authors attempted to perform a systematic review, but due to the differences between the studies, a qualitative synthesis was provided. The diagnosis of NAFLD was made by non-invasive methods (image methods or any surrogate markers) in all three evaluated studies. All the studies suggested that there was an independent association between sarcopenia and NAFLD. CONCLUSION: Sarcopenia is independently associated with NAFLD and possibly to an advanced fibrosis.