Rising fatty liver cases alarm lawmaker
A party list lawmaker on Thursday expressed concern over the rising cases of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in the country and pushed for more programs for its early detection and prevention.
NAFLD is a potentially fatal disease, characterized by an excessive accumulation of fat in the liver, which often results in liver damage, disease or even the organ’s failure.
In a statement, Anakalusugan party list Rep. Ray Reyes sought the creation of more programs to promote the disease’s early detection and prevention, noting that it has no symptoms in the early stages.
“The good news is that it is easily preventable if diagnostic tests for detection are standardized and normalized for all,” he said. Reyes cited a recent finding by the Hepatology Society of the Philippines, which showed that NAFLD affects around 10 to 20 percent of Filipinos.
“Early detection is key and we need to have programs in place to enable intervention at a stage when the disease can still be controlled and potentially reversed.” —JEANETTE I. ANDRADE
