For the first time, researchers have shown that a bi-directional relationship exists between fatty liver disease and cardiovascular disease. Fatty liver disease can lead to increased cardiovascular disease risk and vice versa.

The findings, which appear online in the Journal of Hepatology, are important in understanding the link between fatty liver disease and cardiovascular disease, which continues to be one of the major causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide.

Due to the increased prevalence of obesity, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease has become the most common liver disease in the U.S., affecting 20-30 percent of the adult population. Obesity is also an independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease — so both diseases exist in many patients. Previous studies have shown that there is a link between fatty liver and cardiovascular disease however it is not fully understood if fatty liver disease precedes or develops after cardiovascular disease.

Using data from…