Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the most prevalent liver disease in Canada, with the Canadian Liver Foundation estimating 25 percent of the adult population is affected by the disease.

With such a staggering number, the University of Manitoba Department of Internal Medicine's Section of Hepatology is undertaking a five-year study to identify individuals with this disease.

The study takes place at two sites, at Winkler's C.W. Wiebe Medical Centre and the First Nation's populations of Island Lake.

Department of Internal Medicine Associate Professor and Principal Investigator of the study, Dr. Julia Uhanova, says the two areas have different people and different risk factors that could cause the disease.

"The rise of this disease coincides with the prevalence of obesity and the instances of diabetes... We want to see from the community level, how many people would really have this disease."

NAFLD can take several forms. Steatosis is a fatty change around the liver, and sometimes the extra fat is benign. However, the disease could have more progressive nonalcoholic steatohepatitis, which causes inflammation in the liver.

Damage to the liver can go progress even further towards fibrosis and eventually cirrhosis or scarring of the liver, says Professor of Medicine and Pharmacology at the U of M Dr. Gerry Minuk.

"When you have too much scarring on your liver, we call in cirrhosis, and if you have cirrhosis, you could develop hepatocyte carcinoma. So there is a considerable number of individuals who could conceivably progress towards developing cirrhosis and liver cancers, and might not be aware they have these problems."

For the five-year study, the team needs 1,000 adult individuals age 18 plus from the Winkler area to participate in the study; they currently have around 670.

Dr. Julia Uhanova says the procedure is quite simple, and all individuals have to do is fill out a lifestyle questionnaire and have an ultrasound scan of their liver. If NAFLD is identified, a FibroScan is taken to determine the severity of fibrosis, and that's where Dr. Minuk comes in, to review the results with the patient and if there are health concerns advise the patient on how they can adjust their lifestyle.

It's a long-term commitment, says Dr. Minuk, as every six months, patients with NAFLD are asked to return to the clinic to see how the disease has progressed or improved over that time. For those who tested negative, Dr. Minuk hopes they can return at the end of the five-year study to see if they remain negative, or they develop the disease down the line.

There is good news if participants test positive for NAFLD and have fibrosis on their liver, as it can be reversible. Dr. Uhanova says if the person only has steatosis, it's estimated they need to lose 5 percent of their current body weight. If they have fibrosis, it's recommended about 10 percent of their current body weight is required to reverse the damage. She notes weight loss is the first significant step, and the next is changing your diet.

An interesting element that can help in repairing the damage is drinking 3 to 4 cups of black coffee. However, Dr. Uhanova says only black coffee is useful, any sugar or sweeteners will disrupt the beneficial effects.

Those interested in participating in the study there are several ways to inquire.

1. Call the C.W. Wiebe Medical Centre, or visit their website.

2. Walk-in to the clinic when the team returns every six months.

3. Or visit recruitment booths found at many events throughout the community.

Dr. Uhanova notes this study was made possible through funding from the Canadian Institute of Health Research.