Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42483737›Full record

ArticleJournal of clinical and translational hepatology2026

Regional Inequities in Metabolic Dysfunction-associated Steatotic Liver Disease Burden and Care Quality in High-burden Settings: Implications for Health Systems.

Kexin Zhang, Chengxia Kan, Sufang Sheng, Wei Xu, Fang Han, Jian Chen, Xuan Li, Ningning Hou, Ying Xue, Xiaodong Sun

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of clinical and translational hepatology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors.

Kexin ZhangDepartment of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Tongji Hospital, School of Medicine, Tongji University, Shanghai, China.
Chengxia KanDepartment of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Shandong Provincial Key Medical and Health Laboratory of Endocrinology and Metabolic Diseases, Affiliated Hospital of Shandong Second Medical University, Weifang, Shandong, China.
Sufang ShengDepartment of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Shandong Provincial Key Medical and Health Laboratory of Endocrinology and Metabolic Diseases, Affiliated Hospital of Shandong Second Medical University, Weifang, Shandong, China.
Wei XuDepartment of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Tongji Hospital, School of Medicine, Tongji University, Shanghai, China.
Fang HanDepartment of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Shandong Provincial Key Medical and Health Laboratory of Endocrinology and Metabolic Diseases, Affiliated Hospital of Shandong Second Medical University, Weifang, Shandong, China.
Jian ChenGuangxi Key Laboratory of Tumor Immunology and Microenvironmental Regulation, Guilin Medical University, Guilin, Guangxi, China.
Xuan LiUniversity of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, MS, USA.
Ningning HouDepartment of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Shandong Provincial Key Medical and Health Laboratory of Endocrinology and Metabolic Diseases, Affiliated Hospital of Shandong Second Medical University, Weifang, Shandong, China.
Ying XueDepartment of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Tongji Hospital, School of Medicine, Tongji University, Shanghai, China.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6812-5665
Xiaodong SunDepartment of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Shandong Provincial Key Medical and Health Laboratory of Endocrinology and Metabolic Diseases, Affiliated Hospital of Shandong Second Medical University, Weifang, Shandong, China.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7775-2823

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Background and Aims: Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) is increasing rapidly, yet regional differences in burden and care quality remain unclear. This study aimed to compare regional incidence, mortality, and disability; evaluate care quality; identify key determinants; and project future incidence. Methods: We analyzed the Global Burden of Disease 2023 estimates of MASLD incidence, deaths, and disability-adjusted life years from 1990 to 2023 by age, sex, country, and region. Age-standardized rates were assessed using joinpoint regression. A composite Quality of Care Index (QCI) was derived through principal component analysis. Gradient boosting models with SHapley Additive exPlanations interpretation identified key predictors, and Bayesian age-period-cohort models generated incidence projections. Results: In 2023, South and East Asia had the largest numbers of new cases, while North Africa and the Middle East and Andean Latin America recorded the highest age-standardized incidence, mortality, and disability rates. Eastern Europe and Andean Latin America showed sustained increases in mortality and disability despite moderate incidence growth. QCI values were lowest in South Asia, Western Sub-Saharan Africa, and Eastern Europe. High body mass index and fasting plasma glucose were prominent contributors in comparative risk attribution analyses, and machine learning models identified age and calendar year as the strongest predictors of modeled burden patterns. Incidence is projected to continue increasing through 2050, particularly in India and China. Conclusions: MASLD burden and care quality vary widely across regions. Low-QCI regions show higher mortality and disability, unfavorable metabolic risk profiles, and delayed detection patterns. Strengthening prevention, early case finding, fibrosis assessment, and treatment access may slow MASLD progression.

Indexed as

Global Burden of DiseaseMetabolic dysfunction–associated steatotic liver diseaseMetabolic risk factorsQuality of Care Index

Identifiers

PMID42483737
PMCPMC13384955

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.