Health Ministry releases revised guidelines to combat fatty liver disease

These documents are designed to improve patient care and outcomes related to NAFLD through informed, evidence-based practices.

Addressing the session, Shri Apurva Chandra, Union Health Secretary said “India has taken the lead in recognising NAFLD as a major NCD”. He said, “NAFLD is rapidly emerging as a major public health concern, closely linked with metabolic disorders such as obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. Out of 10, one to three people can have NAFLD which highlights the impact of the disease.”

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Shri Chandra highlighted that “The release of revised operational guidelines and training modules reflects the importance being given by the Union Health Ministry to curb the disease.” He said these documents will provide a framework for health workers at all levels, from community health workers to medical officers.

He also emphasized the importance of continuum of care for people who have been diagnosed with NCDs and underlined the need for lifestyle modification for reducing the prevalence of NAFLD.

Speaking on the occasion, Smt. Punya Salila Srivastava, Officer on Special Duty, Union Health Ministry said that “These guidelines need to reach the grassroot level workers so that the disease is detected early and the burden of NAFLD is reduced.” She said that the release of training module is a significant addition to India’s efforts to build capacities amongst Healthcare professionals to tackle the rising burden of NCDs in India.

Dr S K Sarin, Director, Institute of Liver and Biliary Sciences (ILBS) said that the release of the two documents is a momentous step whose results will be reflected in the next few years. He noted that many non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as diabetes, heart disease, and cancer are linked to liver health, underscoring the importance of maintaining a healthy liver.

Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are accounting for more than 66% of death in the country. NCDs are strongly associated and causally linked with major behaviour risk factors such as tobacco use (smoking & smokeless), alcohol use, poor dietary habits, insufficient physical activity, and air pollution.

Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Diseases (NAFLD) is emerging as an important cause of liver disease in India. It could be assuming a silent epidemic with community prevalence ranging from 9% to 32%, depending on age, gender, area of residence and socioeconomic status. In other words, we are saying that out of 10 persons 1 to 3 persons will be having Fatty liver or related disease.

India contributes high numbers for NCDs globally and one of the core causes of metabolic diseases is in liver. Realizing the growing burden and urgent need to address it, India became the first country to integrate the NAFLD in the National Programme for Prevention and Control of NCDs in 2021.

Considering the recent evidence-based interventions in the field of NAFLD, there was a dire need to revise the guidelines with updated information for prevention, control and management to equip the medical care providers and help in prevention and control of NAFLD.

The guidelines focus on health promotion and early detection which are important for ensuring that patients with NAFLD receive timely and appropriate care. It also advocates for a multidisciplinary approach, integrating the efforts of healthcare providers from various discipline to offer a holistic care to individual affected by NAFLD.

The effective management of NAFLD requires not only a sound understanding of the disease condition but also a capacity to implement evidence-based interventions at all level of healthcare. The Training Module for NAFLD is developed to complement Operational Guidelines and help in building capacity of healthcare professionals with knowledge and skills necessary to identify, manage, prevent NAFLD particularly at primary level.

The module covers a wide range of topic including epidemiology, risk factors, screening, diagnostic protocol and standardized treatment guidelines. It also reinforces the importance of early detection, patient education, lifestyle modification and integrated care strategies to improve health outcomes.

Shri Jaideep Kumar Mishra, Addl. Secy and Financial Adviser, Health Ministry; Smt. L S Changsan, Addl. Secy, Health Ministry; Smt. Latha Ganpathy, Joint Secretary, Health Ministry and senior officers from the Union Health Ministry were present in the meeting. Representatives from all 36 States/UTs, development partners and experts from WHO, ILBS, AIIMS, CMC Vellore, JIPMER, SGPGIMS, PGIMER and RML Hospital also joined the meeting virtually.

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