Even Those in Their 20s and 30s Are Not Safe: Fatty Liver Prevalence in 20s Up 1.5 Times Over Ten Years

Marked Increase in Fatty Liver Disease Among Young People

4% of Fatty Liver Patients Progress to Cirrhosis, 1.5% to Liver Cancer

Improvement Expected with Only 5–10% Body Weight Loss

As the number of patients with fatty liver disease increases, the age of onset is also showing a gradual downward trend. Experts emphasize that early detection and consistent management are crucial, as leaving fatty liver disease untreated can lead to cirrhosis and liver cancer.

Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance announced these findings from its recent liver disease analysis using its integrated health information platform on July 27, ahead of World Hepatitis Day.

According to the 2024 National Cause of Death Statistics, the number of deaths due to liver disease reached 7,787, making liver disease the ninth leading cause of death, up from eleventh place the previous year. When including deaths from liver cancer (10,432), approximately 18,000 people were recorded as having died from liver-related diseases. This is the fifth largest cause of death after cancer, heart disease, pneumonia, and cerebrovascular disease, with a particularly high proportion occurring among those in their 30s to 50s.

The most notable change is the increase in cases of fatty liver disease. According to the Health Insurance Review & Assessment Service, the number of patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease due to metabolic issues has risen about 5.5 times, from 25,000 in 2014 to 138,000 in 2024. The Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance health database also shows that the number of customers paid indemnity insurance related to fatty liver doubled from 12,000 in 2015 to 23,000 in 2025.

Particularly, fatty liver disease, once considered a condition limited to middle-aged and older adults, has been spreading among younger age groups. According to Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance analysis, the prevalence rate of fatty liver among people in their 20s increased by about 1.5 times over the past 10 years—from 148 to 216 per 100,000 population—and by about 1.2 times among those in their 30s (from 355 to 443 per 100,000). Half of the patients with fatty liver disease were also affected by hypertension, diabetes, or hyperlipidemia.

Half of fatty liver patients suffered from hypertension, diabetes, or hyperlipidemia concurrently. However, since fatty liver disease usually presents no symptoms, many patients miss the optimal window for treatment. A study by the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency found that 79.9% of fatty liver patients were incidentally diagnosed during routine health checkups, and only 57.7% of those subsequently sought treatment at a medical institution.

This underscores the importance of early management. When Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance tracked 11,193 customers diagnosed with fatty liver over a period of 10 years, it found that 4.0% progressed to cirrhosis and 1.5% progressed to liver cancer. In particular, patients with concurrent diabetes had a cirrhosis progression rate within 10 years of 5.2%—1.3 percentage points higher than those without chronic diseases (3.9%)—highlighting the need for close management of high-risk groups.

After the onset of cirrhosis, the risk of additional complications and progression to liver cancer rose significantly. Among 960 customers diagnosed with cirrhosis in 2015, 10.1% later developed liver cancer, and about 30% experienced complications such as ascites (21.1%), gastroesophageal varices (11.1%), peritonitis (3.5%), hepatic encephalopathy (2.7%), and hepatorenal syndrome (2.4%).

Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance stressed that weight management is the most important factor in preventing and improving fatty liver disease. Losing just 5 to 10% of one’s body weight can improve the condition, and it noted that with a succession of positive research results on new GLP-1 class drugs for treating metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH), the role of medication is expected to expand in the future.

The Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance Long-Term Future Value Research Center stated, “Given the marked recent increase in fatty liver disease among younger age groups, early detection and management of high-risk groups are more important than ever,” adding, “We will continue to analyze disease-specific treatment trends and medical expense flows to identify customers’ coverage needs and help promote healthy lives.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.