Hegazy MA, Ahmed SM, Sultan SM, Afifi OF, Mohamed MA, Azab AE, Hassanen MA, Zaben RK. Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease and omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids: Friends or foes. World J Hepatol 2025; 17(3): 102286 [DOI: 10.4254/wjh.v17.i3.102286]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Mona A Hegazy, MD, Professor, Department of Internal Medicine, Kasr Aliny Hospital, Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University, Kasr Alainy Street, Garden City, Cairo 12556, Egypt. monahegazy@cu.edu.eg
Research Domain of This Article
Gastroenterology & Hepatology
Article-Type of This Article
Systematic Reviews
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. Mar 27, 2025; 17(3): 102286 Published online Mar 27, 2025. doi: 10.4254/wjh.v17.i3.102286
Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease and omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids: Friends or foes
Mona A Hegazy, Safaa M Ahmed, Shaimaa M Sultan, Osama F Afifi, Manal A Mohamed, Alshimaa E Azab, Mohamed A Hassanen, Rakan K Zaben
Mona A Hegazy, Department of Internal Medicine, Kasr Aliny Hospital, Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University, Cairo 12556, Egypt
Safaa M Ahmed, Department of Neonatology, Mounira General Hospital, Cairo 4262130, Egypt
Shaimaa M Sultan, Department of Maternal and Pediatric Health, Shubra Elkhema Medical Administration, Qalyubia 13768, Egypt
Osama F Afifi, Department of Neonatology, Ashmoun Hospital, Menofia 32811, Egypt
Manal A Mohamed, Department of Internal Medicine, Elnasr Hospital, Helwan 11731, Egypt
Alshimaa E Azab, Department of Anesthesia, Al Helal Insurance Hospital, Qism Shebin 32514, Egypt
Mohamed A Hassanen, Rakan K Zaben, Department of Clinical Nutrition, Egyptian Fellowship, Cairo 11559, Egypt
Author contributions: Hegazy MA conceptualized the study, designed the research framework, critically reviewed the overarching concept and structure, and contributed to both the manuscript drafting and final revision; Ahmed SM, Sultan SM, Afifi OF, Mohamed MA, Azab AE, Hassanen MA, and Zaben RK collectively participated in the systematic screening of citations from full-text articles, data collection, and the comprehensive review of the manuscript, contributing equally to its preparation; and all authors have confirmed their approval of the finalized manuscript for publication.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
PRISMA 2009 Checklist statement: The authors have read the PRISMA 2009 Checklist, and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the PRISMA 2009 Checklist.
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: Mona A Hegazy, MD, Professor, Department of Internal Medicine, Kasr Aliny Hospital, Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University, Kasr Alainy Street, Garden City, Cairo 12556, Egypt. monahegazy@cu.edu.eg
Received: October 13, 2024 Revised: February 20, 2025 Accepted: March 5, 2025 Published online: March 27, 2025 Processing time: 163 Days and 9.8 Hours
Core Tip
Core Tip: Dietary habits extend beyond influencing metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease onset, serving as a fundamental component in its therapeutic management. While fats have a deleterious role in the pathogenesis of liver steatosis and fibrosis, unsaturated fats provide a crucial safeguard in metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease management. Omega-6 polyunsaturated fat subtypes exhibit varying pro- and anti-inflammatory effects; most arachidonic acid-derived eicosanoids, exhibit pro-inflammatory effects, while linoleic acid and natural conjugated linoleic acid do not increase inflammation, even at high doses, and may even exert beneficial effects. Therefore, further research is needed to explore dietary sources of healthy omega-6 fatty acids.
