NAFLD vs MASLD (Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Steatotic Liver Disease) - Why the Need for a Change of Nomenclature?

Several reasons led to the change in the nomenclature from nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) to metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD); the most important being limitations due to the reliance on exclusionary confounder terms and the use of potentially stigmatizing language (the terms "nonalcoholic"and "fatty"). The new name was decided through a Delphi process and now includes in the name, and definition, the metabolic origin (the presence of at least 1 of 5 cardiometabolic risk factors) without the stigmatizing terms. The recognition of a new category termed "metabolic and alcohol related/associated liver disease"(MetALD) opens up a new area for exploration although the relative contribution of alcohol and metabolic risk factors requires further evaluation as does the evidencing at a patient rather than population level.