Majeed AA, Butt AS. Hepatitis B virus infection and metabolic dysfunction associated steatotic liver disease: Rising pandemic with complex interaction. World J Hepatol 2025; 17(1): 100968 [DOI: 10.4254/wjh.v17.i1.100968]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Amna S Butt, Associate Professor, Department of Medicine, Aga Khan University Hospital, Stadium Road, Karachi 74800, Pakistan. amna.subhan@aku.edu
Research Domain of This Article
Gastroenterology & Hepatology
Article-Type of This Article
Letter to the Editor
Open-Access Policy of This Article
This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
World J Hepatol. Jan 27, 2025; 17(1): 100968 Published online Jan 27, 2025. doi: 10.4254/wjh.v17.i1.100968
Hepatitis B virus infection and metabolic dysfunction associated steatotic liver disease: Rising pandemic with complex interaction
Ammara A Majeed, Amna S Butt
Ammara A Majeed, Amna S Butt, Department of Medicine, Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi 74800, Pakistan
Author contributions: Majeed AA and Butt AS both had reviewed the article, performed literature search and written the letter; Butt AS has received the invitation for article; and all authors thoroughly reviewed and endorsed the final manuscript.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Amna S Butt, Associate Professor, Department of Medicine, Aga Khan University Hospital, Stadium Road, Karachi 74800, Pakistan. amna.subhan@aku.edu
Received: September 2, 2024 Revised: November 6, 2024 Accepted: December 2, 2024 Published online: January 27, 2025 Processing time: 127 Days and 18.6 Hours
Abstract
Due to sedentary lifestyle and rising prevalence of obesity, patients with general population and those who are infected with chronic hepatitis B are found to have metabolic dysfunction associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD). Both chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection and MASLD can damage hepatocytes in their own way, but concomitant HBV-MASLD has its own clinical implications. Cherry on top is the presence of diabetes mellitus, hypertension or obesity which added more chances of unfavorable outcomes in these patients. In this article, we comment on the article by Wang et al published in the recent issue. This article provides a comprehensive overview of the complex interaction between HBV-MASLD, HBV alone and MASLD alone patients. We discuss key findings from recent studies, including the promising outcomes observed in patients with concurrent HBV and MASLD, warrants further research. The insights presented here offer renewed understanding of this complex interaction.
Core Tip: Advancements and explorations in the understanding of underlying pathophysiology of concomitant hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection and metabolic dysfunction associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) facilitates clinicians in managing patients with this complex interaction. Studies have shown various relationships and interactions between MASLD and HBV infection. Concomitant HBV infection and MASLD can result in increased HBV surface diversity and increased HBV variants which can potentially impact liver disease progression. Further research is warranted to better understand the mechanisms and optimize treatment strategies in patients with hepatic steatosis and HBV infection.
