The summaries are free for public
use. The Chronic Liver Disease
Foundation will continue to add and
archive summaries of articles deemed
relevant to CLDF by the Board of
Trustees and its Advisors.
1University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus, Technische Universität Dresden, Germany, Department of Internal Medicine III, Dresden, Germany.
2University Hospital Zurich (USZ) and University of Zurich (UZH), Switzerland, Department of Endocrinology, Diabetology and Clinical Nutrition, Zurich, Switzerland.
3Abu Dhabi University, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, College of Health Sciences, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
4Abu Dhabi University, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, Department of Public Health, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
5University Hospital and Faculty of Medicine, TU Dresden, Dresden, Paul Langerhans Institute Dresden (PLID), Helmholtz Center Munich, Dresden, Germany.
6Neuherberg, German Center for Diabetes Research (DZD e.V.), Neuherberg, Germany.
Abstract
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is characterized by a wide clinical spectrum that includes abnormalities in liver function indicative of liver damage. Conversely, people with liver diseases are at higher risk of severe COVID-19. In the current review, we summarize first the epidemiologic evidence describing the bidirectional relationship between COVID-19 and liver function/liver diseases. Additionally, we present the most frequent histologic findings as well as the most important direct and indirect mechanisms supporting a COVID-19 mediated liver injury. Furthermore, we focus on the most frequent liver disease in the general population, non-alcoholic or metabolic-associated fatty liver disease (NAFLD/MAFLD), and describe how COVID-19 may affect NAFLD/MAFLD development and progression and conversely how NAFLD/MAFLD may further aggravate a COVID-19 infection. Finally, we present the long-term consequences of the pandemic on the development and management of NAFLD.