Metabolic (dysfunction)-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) is currently the most common chronic liver disease and affects at least a quarter of the global adult population. It has rapidly become one of the leading causes of hepatocellular carcinoma and cirrhosis in Western countries. In this review, we discuss the nomenclature and definition of MAFLD as well as its prevalence and incidence in different geographical regions. Although cardiovascular disease remains the leading cause of death in MAFLD patients, the proportion of patients dying from hepatic complications increases sharply as the disease progresses to advanced liver fibrosis and cirrhosis. In addition, patients with MAFLD are at increased risk of various extrahepatic cancers. Although a causal relationship between MAFLD and extrahepatic cancers has not been established, clinicians should recognize the association and consider cancer screening (e.g., for colorectal cancer) as appropriate.

代谢（功能障碍）相关脂肪肝 (MAFLD) 是目前最常见的慢性肝病，影响全球至少四分之一的成年人口。它已迅速成为西方国家肝细胞癌和肝硬化的主要原因之一。在这篇综述中，我们讨论了 MAFLD 的命名和定义，以及它在不同地理区域的患病率和发病率。尽管心血管疾病仍然是 MAFLD 患者死亡的主要原因，但随着疾病进展为晚期肝纤维化和肝硬化，死于肝脏并发症的患者比例急剧增加。此外，MAFLD 患者患各种肝外癌的风险增加。尽管尚未确定 MAFLD 与肝外癌之间的因果关系，