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NAFLD, but also for identifying those patients at higher risk of having CKD or other chronic vascular
complications [1,65] . Finally, despite the large body of evidence on NAFLD in T2DM patients, there are still
important open issues that need to be timely resolved:
(1) Is MAFLD definition more useful in clinical practice when compared to NAFLD definition?
(2) Which are the appropriate screening/surveillance measures for NAFLD in individuals with T2DM?
(3) Which is the appropriate non-invasive diagnostic strategy for NASH and advanced fibrosis in T2DM
patients with NAFLD?
(4) Is NAFLD a risk factor or only an independent predictor of non-hepatic complications in patients with
T2DM, including cardiovascular disease?
(5) What is the role of genetic factors regarding the development of advanced forms of NAFLD in patients
with T2DM?

DECLARATIONS
Authors’ contributions
Made substantial contributions to conception and design of the study and performed data analysis and
interpretation, performed data acquisition, as well as provided administrative, technical and material
support: Mantovani A, Beatrice G, Sputia R, Dalbeni A

Availability of data and materials
Not applicable.

Financial support and sponsorship
None.

Conflicts of interest
All authors declared that there are no conflicts of interest.

Ethical approval and consent to participate
Not applicable.

Consent for publication
Not applicable.

Copyright
© The Author(s) 2020.

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