TOPLINE:

Metabolic dysfunction–associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) significantly raises the risk for cardiovascular, metabolic, oncologic, and other outcomes, a new meta-analysis suggests.

METHODOLOGY:

• Researchers conducted a comprehensive meta-analysis of studies to investigate longitudinal clinical outcomes associated with MASLD, previously known as nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.

• They identified 129 original studies that evaluated the longitudinal risks for incident clinical outcomes in patients with MASLD vs those without the disease.

• Investigators calculated pooled risk estimates for clinical outcomes in patients with MASLD and those without MASLD, with MASLD being diagnosed by imaging, biopsy, blood tests, or International Classification of Diseases (ICD) codes.

TAKEAWAY:

• MASLD was associated with a significant increased risk for cardiovascular disease outcomes (hazard ratio [HR], 1.43), metabolic outcomes such as incident hypertension (HR, 1.75), prediabetes (HR, 1.69), diabetes (HR, 2.56), metabolic syndrome (HR, 2.57), chronic kidney disease (HR, 1.38), and various liver-related outcomes (HR, 3.92).

• Patients with advanced MASLD had a significantly greater risk (P = .02) of developing diabetes than did their peers with less severe MASLD (HR, 1.63), compared with persons without MASLD.

• MASLD was also associated with all cancers (HR, 1.54); the highest risk was seen for hepatocellular carcinoma (HR, 4.37).

• Subgroup analyses stratified by sex found no significant differences in the risks observed between men and women with MASLD.

IN PRACTICE:

“It is imperative to understand that MASLD is a complex and multi-faceted condition that requires a comprehensive approach to recognition and treatment beyond that of the hepatologist alone,” the authors write. “The growing prevalence of MASLD will remain a major global health threat that requires effective disease management frameworks to be put in place.”

SOURCE:

The study, with co-first authors Kai En Chan and Elden Yen Hng Ong, National University of Singapore, was published online September 27 in Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology.

LIMITATIONS:

The results depend on the validity of the original studies, and residual confounding factors may have biased the reported results. The study is also limited in its inclusion of large population-based studies using ICD codes that may result in misclassification bias. There was no examination of longitudinal outcomes in patients with histologically confirmed MASLD.

DISCLOSURES:

The study had no funding. Some authors report research support, consulting fees, or stock options from pharmaceutical companies.

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