CKD and Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease

The possible link between nonalcoholic fatty liver disease and chronic kidney disease (CKD) recently has attracted considerable scientific interest. Accumulating clinical evidence indicates that the presence and severity of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease is associated significantly with CKD (defined as decreased estimated glomerular filtration rate and/or proteinuria) and that nonalcoholic fatty liver disease predicts the development and progression of CKD, independently of traditional cardiorenal risk factors. Experimental evidence also suggests that nonalcoholic fatty liver disease itself may exacerbate systemic and hepatic insulin resistance, cause atherogenic dyslipidemia, and release a variety of proinflammatory, procoagulant, pro-oxidant, and profibrogenic mediators that play important roles in the development and progression of CKD. However, despite the growing evidence linking nonalcoholic fatty liver disease with CKD, it has not been definitively established whether a causal association exists. The clinical implication for these findings is that patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease may benefit from more intensive surveillance or early treatment interventions to decrease the risk of CKD. In this review, we discuss the evidence linking nonalcoholic fatty liver disease with CKD and the putative mechanisms by which nonalcoholic fatty liver disease contributes to kidney damage. We also briefly discuss current treatment options for this increasingly prevalent disease that is likely to have an important future impact on the global burden of disease.