The Silent Symptoms of Fatty Liver Disease

One in four American adults has fatty liver disease.

In people who have the disease, fat builds up in the liver and can eventually cause problems with liver function. Obesity and diabetes are the most common reasons that people develop fatty liver disease.

Over time, the disease can become life-threatening. According to Paul J. Thuluvath, M.D., Chief, Division of Gastroenterology at Mercy and Medical Director for The Melissa L. Posner Institute for Digestive Health & Liver Disease at Mercy, it can begin with silent symptoms.

"We call it a silent epidemic because 90 percent of the people with fatty liver disease don't know they have had the condition. Unless they go through some tests, like an ultrasound or a blood test, they will have never known they had fatty liver disease," Dr. Thuluvath said.

Silent symptoms can include fatigue and liver discomfort, weakness, weight loss, jaundice, persistent itchiness and visible spider-like blood vessels in the skin.

Dr. Thuluvath added that in about 10 percent of people, fatty liver disease can progress to cirrhosis, liver failure or liver cancer.

View Mercy gastroenterologist Dr. Paul Thuluvath's interview regarding fatty liver disease.