Chronic liver disease
constitutes a major
health problem, and
considered an important
cause of morbidity and
mortality. While, the
economic burden
associated with liver
disease is remarkable,
the burden of liver
disease appears to be on
the rise, due ,in part,
to the increasing
prevalence of NAFLD, HCV,
and HCC. On the other
hand, many liver
diseases with relatively
low frequency have
substantial impact on
the quality of life of
those affected patients.
It is important to point
out that there are gaps
in our current
understanding of the
epidemiology of liver
disease at the
population level. This
is partly because of the
fact that many
investigations in
hepatology are conducted
at referral centers
based on selected
patients. As most liver
diseases have a
substantial latency
period during which
patients have mild
asymptomatic liver
disease, studies based
on referral patients
only recognize patients
with the most severe or
advanced disease and
fail to obtain
information on the
entire spectrum of
disease.
Although the need and
benefits of
population-based
epidemiologic data are
easy to recognize, it is
much harder to execute
such studies without
enhancing the abilities
to implement highly
advanced electronic
methods to obtain the
maximum and clean
necessary data on
specific chronic liver
diseases and increasing
the awareness of the
impact and need for
intervention by
concerned funding
agencies for a continued
expansion of research in
the area as it has in
other fields such as
heart disease and
diabetes.
Hepatology specialists
can further contribute
to a better
understanding of the
epidemiology of liver
disease by continuing to
endeavour to understand
pathophysiologic
mechanisms and thereby
be able to classify
diseases by clear-cut
diagnostic criteria.
investigation in many
liver diseases that are
infrequent will continue
to depend on patients
seen at referral
centers. However, for a
meaningful progress to
be made, concerted
efforts across specialty
centers are needed.
SOLID electronic liver
diseases' registry
is designed to be
prospective and
retrospective study to
precisely report into
the patterns of HBV, HCV,
HCC & NAFLD diseases'
Frequency, prevalence,
incidence, and onset
will be measured by both
existing cases and the
occurrence of new cases
starting from the launch
date of SOLID registries.
As of the fact, there is
often a long time
interval between disease
occurrence and
detection. Further, many
patients with liver
disease remain
asymptomatic until they
develop hepatic
decompensation. Thus,
except for a small
number of conditions, it
is very difficult, if
not impossible, to
accurately ascertain
incidence rates of liver
disease. However, and to
maximize the benefit of
this multinational-based
study, the plan is made
to have SOLID study
running from 10 to 15
years or may far exceed
forecasted estimates.
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