8 The long-term prognosis for individuals with NAFLD and NASH has been investigated in population-based studies9, 10 as well as in a cohort study in which NAFLD was considerd by biopsy,11 with a longest follow-up period so far of 14 years. Although the overall survival in connection with NAFLD was found to be slightly decreased,9 this reduction has been attributed to enhanced mortality, specifically among Proteasome inhibitor the subpopulation suffering from NASH,11 in which case bland steatosis might not alter the risk of death. The longer-term survival for subjects with NAFLD (with and without steatohepatitis) in comparison with both those with elevated serum levels

of transaminases from other causes and the general poulation is thus incompletely characterized. The aim of the current investigation was to examine the mortality and causes of death in a cohort of subjects with elevated serum levels of aminotransaminases. Furthermore, we wanted to determine the frequency of NAFLD and NASH in this population and compare the survival and causes of death in NAFLD subjects

of those subjects with other liver diseases, and of the general population. AFLD, alcoholic fatty liver disease; ALT, alanine aminotransferase; CI, confidence interval; Selleckchem Carfilzomib HCC, hepatocellular carcinoma; NAFLD, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease; NASH, nonalcoholic steatohepatitis; SMR, standardized mortality ratio. Between 1980 and 1984, 232 subjects with unexplained elevated serum levels of ALT, and therefore referred to our unit, have been characterized in a retrospective (n = 149) and a prospective (n = 83) study by Hultcrantz and coworkers.4, 5 Twenty-four additional subjects excluded from this previous prospective study because of a lack of radiological data were also included in the current follow-up study, giving 256 subjects altogether. The inclusion criteria were persistently elevated levels of aspartate aminotransferase and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) for longer than 6 months. Subjects with symptoms or clinical

signs of liver disease were excluded, as were those with serum levels of alkaline phosphate (greater than twice the upper normal limit, that is, >4.2 μkat/L) MCE and those exhibiting clinical or laboratory signs of kidney disease. The mean age at the time of liver biopsy was 48.5 years for the men and 48.3 years for the women in the retrospective study, and the corresponding ages in the prospective study were 41 and 42 years, respectively (Table 1). Unless otherwise stated in the medical chart by the two physicians (and co-authors R.H. and G.L.), the patient was assumed not to overconsume alcohol. A great deal of effort was put into uncovering any such overconsumption at the time. As noted in the medical records, testing for hepatitis C virus had been performed on 70 of our subjects, and 37 were positive.