CRITERIA FOR DISTINGUISHING AND TARGETING RISK GROUPS IN THE EARLY DETECTION OF STEATOHEPATITIS

Early detection of steatohepatitis in metabolically at-risk populations is less about finding “fatty liver” and more about identifying the smaller subgroup with clinically significant fibrosis, because fibrosis stage best predicts liver-related outcomes and determines who needs specialist management and closer surveillance. Liver biopsy remains the reference standard for defining steatohepatitis and staging fibrosis, but it is invasive and impractical for large-scale case finding. Therefore, modern strategies rely on targeted entry criteria to select high-yield risk groups and on stepwise non-invasive testing pathways to efficiently rule out advanced fibrosis in low-risk individuals while prioritizing confirmatory testing and referral for those at higher risk.