KAOHSIUNG MEDICAL UNIVERSITY · CENTER FOR METABOLIC DISORDERS AND OBESITY
From disease surveillance to evidence-based interventions: reducing the health burden of metabolic disorders and obesity
Bringing research into prevention and connecting evidence with health. We focus on disease trends, risk identification, and public health action.
RESEARCH IN FOCUS · JULY 2026
Understanding the long-term burden of MASLD
35.1%
Overall prevalence in the study sample
426,478 study participants
Data from 2001–2021
RESEARCH THEMES
Research begins with understanding the problem
01 · Disease surveillance
Tracking the distribution and temporal trends of metabolic disorders and obesity to identify important changes in populations.
Population data · Epidemiology
02 · Risk identification
Investigating associations between cardiometabolic risk factors and disease to inform screening and prevention.
Risk factors · Early identification
03 · Evidence-based interventions
Turning research findings into prevention strategies that can be discussed and evaluated, in response to clinical and public health needs.
Prevention strategies · Translational applications
FEATURED RESEARCH
Two decades of MASLD trends in Taiwan
Journal publication · Hepatology International · 3 July 2026
Drawing on two large cohorts, this study examined changes in metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) and cardiometabolic risk factors between 2001 and 2021.
The detailed tables show that the increase after 2010 was concentrated mainly among people younger than 40; the difference between periods in the 40–49-year age group was not statistically significant. These findings support further development of age-specific, targeted prevention strategies.
Read the research summaryYeh, Tsai, Huang et al. (2026). DOI: 10.1007/s12072-026-11123-2
OUR TEAM
Meet the people behind our research
Get to know our Center leadership, faculty and research team, and Center staff.
Meet our research teamCOLLABORATION & CONTACT
A research question can start a collaboration
For academic exchange or collaboration, please contact the Center.
No. 100, Shih-Chuan 1st Road, Sanmin District, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
Kaohsiung Medical University switchboard: +886-7-312-1101