S5 - E22 - Healthy Livers, Healthy Lives: A Global SLD Public Health Coalition

Surfing the MASH Tsunami

00:00:00 - Surf's Up: Season 5 Episode 22
Jeff Lazarus joins Jörn Schattenberg, Louise Campbell and Roger Green to discuss Healthy Livers, Healthy Lives, a coalition of four major professional organizations (AASLD, ALEH, APASL and EASL) and other partners. This coalition works with other specialties to create global public health awareness and drive "top-down" solutions that are pivotal to stemming the MASLD Tsunami.
00:06:48 - The need for a MASLD public health coalition
Jeff starts the conversation by describing the environment in which the MASLD community lives today: great news and energy within, but minimal exposure among related metabolic specialties and public health policy shapers.
00:11:55 - Healthy Livers, Healthy Lives
Jeff describes the structure and goals of Healthy Livers, Healthy Lives.
00:13:32 - Two initiatives to increase early screening
In response to a question from Louise, Jeff mentions two efforts: a project to "double the diagnosis" over the next 3-4 years and another to identify all the concomitant conditions with sufficient disease cost to merit screening everyone living with that condition.
00:16:39 - Political will and structural change
Louise asks how we can overcome obstruction within the system to promote liver health. To Jeff, it all depends on political will, the energy that converts successful localized strategies into large-scale, top-down innovation. The solutions to the most significant, most intractable structural problems that evolve this way can drive "bigger and faster improvements in the field."
00:28:40 - Good things happening in New York
In this context, Jeff shares how a visionary health commissioner in New York has created the Healthy NYC program to increase life expectancy by reducing specific diseases.

00:33:00 - The updated MASLD CPG
Jeff praises the updated MASLD CPG guidelines as "amazing" and suggests that one reason is that EASD and EASO are partners in drafting and promoting them.
00:35:40 - Big Data-drive screening solutions
This section explores whether and how Big Data can provide a set of standard variables that will outperform FIB-4 in predicting MASLD risk (see S5 E17). Jeff and Jörn identify the benefits and challenges of this approach.
00:38:38 - The upcoming U.N. General Assembly MASLD side event
Healthy Livers, Healthy Lives is holding this event at the U.N. General Assembly meeting in mid-September. The goal is to push the World Health Organization to develop and release a global health sector MASLD strategy.
00:40:41 - Presenting MASLD to politicians
One challenge in educating policymakers about MASLD is that people do not die from MASLD. Sadly, large death counts produce public sector action, as we all saw with COVID-19. Suggestion: Reframing the issue as to how many people die with MASLD, not from MASLD, may make the story easier to tell.
00:43:06 - How listeners can support this initiative
Roger asks Jeff how listeners can support the Healthy Livers, Healthy Lives initiative. Listen to hear Jeff's suggestions.
00:44:58 - LiverAIM and closing comments
Jeff mentions LiverAIM, the largest European Commission-funded liver project in 26 years (see S5 E15). Jörn restates the importance of working with experts in developing public health approaches that drive policy change from the top down. Channeling Louise, Roger suggests that professional organizations need to bring allied health providers into the dialogue.
00:50:03 - Question of the Week
Roger asks what listeners believe they can do in their own organizations and lives to support the goals discussed today.
00:50:36 - Business Report
News on next week's session, Roger's office hours, and the Vault conversation.