Sex, metabolic profiles and alcohol: evaluating prognostic significance steatosis liver disease classifications in the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging (CLSA)

Project Summary

Steatotic liver disease (SLD), previously known as fatty liver disease, is the most common liver condition, affecting about 1 in 3 adults. It starts with a build-up of fat in the liver, which can lead to severe and sometimes life-threatening damage. In 2023, the classification of SLD was changed to consider both metabolic health and alcohol use. Now, SLD is grouped into 3 categories based on alcohol intake: minimal use (metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD)), moderate use (metabolic dysfunction-associated alcohol-associated liver disease (MetALD)), and significant use (alcohol-associated liver disease (ALD)). Since these changes, few studies have looked at how these new categories are associated with an increased risk of death. The results are inconsistent and lack consideration of the impact of sex. We will explore how alcohol use and metabolic health influence death among aging Canadians to improve public health awareness and help those affected by SLD.