Fig. 5

Comparative effects of MAFLD and NAFLD on the risk of fatal and nonfatal CVD and all-cause mortality independently of cardiometabolic risk factors. The figure shows the forest plots of the effects of MAFLD and NAFLD on the risk of CVD mortality and events and all-cause mortality after adjustment for coexisting cardiometabolic risk factors, in cohort studies that simultaneously used the MAFLD and NAFLD definitions. Data are expressed as hazard ratios and 95% confidence intervals (in parenthesis). A CVD events [14, 50, 52]: MAFLD is associated with a greater risk of CVD events than NAFLD B CVD mortality [30, 47]: the risk for CVD mortality is attenuated after adjustment for cardiometabolic risk factors in MAFLD or NAFLD; C all-cause mortality [30, 47, 50]: MAFLD is associated with a higher risk of all-cause mortality but this association is diminished after adjustment for cardiometabolic risk factors. CVD cardiovascular disease, MAFLD metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease, NAFLD non-alcoholic fatty liver disease