INTRODUCTION
‎ ‎‏ ‏‎ Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is highly prevalent in the ‎general population worldwide. Most individuals with NAFLD have ‎components of metabolic syndrome (MS) such as type 2 diabetes (T2D), ‎dyslipidemia, hypertension and visceral obesity. ‎
‏ ‏Although gender-specific differences in the prevalence of NAFLD
have been debated, increasing age does seem to have an influence by ‎increasing the prevalence of NAFLD. However, the age cut-off chosen for ‎the definition of “elderly" may vary across the studies, yielding conflicting ‎results. In fact, while most studies reported an increased prevalence and ‎severity of NAFLD in subjects older than 60 or 65 years, NAFLD appear ‎to be a common but benign finding in an octogenarian population ‎with a prevalence rate of 46.2% . ‎
‎ Age-related anatomical and functional changes in the liver can also ‎impact the progression and outcomes of liver disease. In fact, older ‎individuals lose nearly one third of their hepatic volume and perfusion, ‎which may negatively affect the regenerative capacity of the liver. In ‎addition to the age-related lipid accumulation in non-adipose tissue, ‎including liver, older age is also associated with sarcopenia, i.e. decreased ‎muscle mass and function, along with dysregulation of the free radical ‎scavenging systems which can lead to an increase in the oxidative stress ‎potentially promoting the progression of NAFLD. ‎