Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is associated with a higher risk of pregnancy complications, even after adjusting for other metabolic diseases, researchers say. 

The US study of 18.5 million pregnancies suggests NAFLD is linked to a threefold higher risk of hypertensive complications, such as pre-eclampsia, compared with no chronic liver disease. 

In addition, preterm birth and postpartum haemorrhage are 60-70% more common among women with NAFLD after adjusting for obesity, diabetes and hypertension, say the researchers from the University of California San Francisco. 

“This finding has direct implications for pregnancy counselling in women with NAFLD and supports the need for future studies to evaluate the potential role of prophylactic measures … such as aspirin use to help mitigate this risk,” they write in the Journal of Hepatology.