Effectiveness of Ambulatory Liver Fat Monitoring in Improvement of Hepatic Steatosis in Patients With Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease: a Multi-center Randomized Controlled Trial
Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) affects 25% of the global population and causes serious complications, including cirrhosis, hepatocellular carcinoma or mortality. Unfortunately, there are not yet any approved drugs to treatment NAFLD. The only effective means to improve NAFLD is by weight reduction via lifestyle modifications, i.e., diet and physical activity. Most NAFLD patients lack the motivation to initiate and maintain lifestyle modifications. The investigators hypothesize that ambulatory monitoring of liver fat can help NAFLD patients lose more liver fat by motivating them to gain a sense of control over their condition.
• patients with known NAFLD (diagnosed by ultrasonography or other forms of imaging; transient elastography with controlled attenuation parameter \>248 dB/m; or liver biopsy) who are managed in the Liver Clinics of Queen Mary Hospital or Tung Wah Hospital
• aged 18-65 years
• without major cognitive impairment - since these subjects would be given simple instructions on using the ambulatory device to measure liver fat at home by themselves