Doycheva I, et al. - During this study, experts coveted an inspection of the frequency and trend of liver transplantation (LT) for nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) cirrhosis in young adults aged 18 to 40 years. Additionally, they contemplated the post-LT outcomes in this age group. Findings depicted that NASH was the fastest-growing indication for LT among young US adults aged 18 to 40 years. It accounted for approximately 5% of all LTs in this age group.

Methods

• A retrospective cohort analysis was conducted using the United Network for Organ Sharing database.
• This research included LTs in young adults between 2002 and 2012.
• An estimation was performed of the incidence rate ratio for each indication.

Results

• During the study period, 5,157 young adults underwent LT, out of which 54% were male, 23% obese.
• It was noted that the mean (±SD) age and body mass index were 31.6±6.7 years and 26.3±6.1 kg/m², respectively.
• A rise was discovered in the incidence of LTs performed for NASH cirrhosis from 0.53% in 2002 to 4.46% in 2012.
• As per the outcomes, NASH appeared to be the most rapidly growing indication for LT among all other etiologies, displaying a 14% increment per year (incidence rate ratio, 1.14; 95% confidence interval, 1.09-1.20, P < 0.001).
• Findings disclosed comparable 5-year post-LT outcomes between NASH and non-NASH recipients.
• Nonetheless, lower graft survival and higher retransplantation cumulative rates were discovered in NASH recipients compared with those with other metabolic liver diseases (63.5% vs 81.4%, P=0.003 and 12.7% vs 4.2%, P=0.046, respectively).