The first symptoms that appear in your body if you suffer from fatty liver disease
In Spain, it's not uncommon to hear about someone diagnosed with fatty liver disease , which is technically called non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. As its name suggests, it manifests as an abnormal accumulation of fat in this vital organ.
Particularly common in overweight or obese people , fatty liver disease, despite its scientific name, affects people who drink little or no alcohol. Experts warn that this condition is becoming increasingly common in Western countries as obesity increases. But how can I tell if I have fatty liver disease?
Fatty liver, the most common type of liver disease
As Mayo Clinic experts explain, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease is the most common type of liver disease in the world, and its severity ranges from liver stenosis to a more serious form called nonalcoholic steatohepatitis, which causes the liver to swell and become damaged due to fatty deposits.
If this severe form progresses, it can lead to scarring of the liver, known as cirrhosis , and eventually lead to liver cancer . It's worth noting that, at this extreme stage, the consequences of this disease are similar to those caused by excessive alcohol consumption.
How to recognize the symptoms of fatty liver
Although experts warn that this increasingly prevalent pathology does not present specific and exclusive symptoms that allow us to identify it without any doubt, there are some clues that can lead us to suspect it.
Among the most common symptoms of the disease are extreme fatigue, a feeling of general malaise , and persistent pain in the upper right abdomen. Nausea and a feeling of weakness may also occur in certain cases.
If fatty liver has progressed to cirrhosis , other more specific symptoms may also occur, such as abdominal swelling, itchy skin, visibly swollen legs, a feeling of shortness of breath, an enlarged spleen, yellowing of the eyes (jaundice) , and the presence of dilated blood vessels just beneath the surface of the skin.
Fatty liver, a pathology of unknown causes
The scientific community disagrees on the causes that can lead to fatty liver in some people and not in others. Although experts agree that there may be a genetic component, and that obesity is a fairly clear risk factor , there is no clear explanation for the cause yet. However, there is a higher prevalence in people over 50 years of age.
In certain cases of patients with insulin resistance , which occurs when cells do not absorb glucose in response to the hormone insulin, in combination with type 2 diabetes, and/or high levels of fats, particularly triglycerides, in the blood, the chances of suffering from fatty liver multiply.
Other conditions that could increase the risk of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease include a family history of the condition; growth hormone deficiency; high cholesterol levels ; high triglyceride levels; polycystic ovary syndrome ; and hypothyroidism.
Lorena Castro S., Guillermo Silva P. Department of Gastroenterology, Las Condes Clinic. 'Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease'. Published in Elsevier. Accessed online at https://www.elsevier.es/es-revista-revista-medica-clinica-las-condes-202-articulo on May 22, 2025.
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