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World J Clin Cases. Jun 16, 2021; 9(17): 4133-4142
Published online Jun 16, 2021. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v9.i17.4133
Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease and COVID-19: An epidemic that begets pandemic
Musaab Ahmed, Mohamed H Ahmed
Musaab Ahmed, College of Medicine, Ajman University, Ajman 346, United Arab Emirates
Mohamed H Ahmed, Department of Medicine and HIV Metabolic Clinic, Milton Keynes University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, Milton Keynes MK5 6LD, United Kingdom
Author contributions: Ahmed M and Ahmed MH contributed equally to manuscript preparation and writing, and performance of the analysis with constructive discussions; Ahmed MH designed the outline of the review.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare no conflict of interest related to this manuscript.
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: http://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Mohamed H Ahmed, MBBS, PhD, Doctor, Department of Medicine and HIV Metabolic Clinic, Milton Keynes University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, Eaglestone, Milton Keynes MK5 6LD, United Kingdom. mohamed.hassan-ahmed@mkuh.nhs.uk
Received: January 13, 2021
Peer-review started: January 13, 2021
First decision: February 10, 2021
Revised: February 24, 2021
Accepted: April 26, 2021
Article in press: April 26, 2021
Published online: June 16, 2021
Core Tip

Core Tip: Earlier studies suggested that individuals most vulnerable to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection suffer from pre-existing disease, including nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). There is an interwoven relationship between NAFLD and the associated high-risk factors for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). NAFLD can increase risk of infection, lung injury, cardiac impairment, and difficulty with respiratory ventilation, and can be associated with higher risk for COVID-19, especially in the presence of liver fibrosis. The association between high production of interleukin-6 in both NAFLD and COVID-19 merits further research to determine whether NAFLD is directly involved in the cytokine storms.