What is MASLD?
Last content review 2026-09-23
The short answer
MASLD stands for metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease. It describes fat accumulation in the liver in a person who also has at least one cardiometabolic feature such as excess waist circumference, high blood sugar, high blood pressure or abnormal lipids. It is the term that has largely replaced NAFLD since 2023.
What is happening?
Fat (mainly triglyceride) builds up inside liver cells — this is called steatosis.
In MASLD this steatosis occurs alongside metabolic dysfunction: insulin resistance, central adiposity, dysglycaemia, raised blood pressure or dyslipidaemia.
In some people the fat is accompanied by inflammation and liver-cell injury; that stage is called MASH (metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis) and can be associated with scarring over time.
Why does this matter?
MASLD is common and usually silent, so it is frequently discovered incidentally on an ultrasound or during evaluation of another problem.
It is a marker of whole-body metabolic health, not only a liver finding, and it sits alongside increased cardiovascular and type 2 diabetes risk.
What does the evidence say?
The MASLD/MASH terminology comes from a 2023 multi-society Delphi consensus published in Hepatology, adopted by major liver societies.
EASL–EASD–EASO (2024) and AASLD guidance define MASLD by hepatic steatosis plus at least one cardiometabolic risk factor, with other causes of steatosis considered.
Key takeaway
MASLD means fat in the liver together with metabolic dysfunction — it is a signal about your overall metabolism, and it deserves proper assessment rather than reassurance or alarm.
Sources & references
Multi-society Delphi consensus group
A multi-society Delphi consensus statement on new fatty liver disease nomenclature (2023) · Consensus statement
View original sourceEASL, EASD and EASO
EASL–EASD–EASO Clinical Practice Guideline on MASLD (2024) · Clinical guideline
View original sourceAmerican Association for the Study of Liver Diseases
AASLD Practice Guidance on the clinical assessment and management of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (2023) · Clinical guideline
View original source
This page is general health education. It is not a diagnosis, and it cannot replace advice from your treating doctor. Never start or stop a prescribed medicine based on what you read here.
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