Supplementary Material for: Impact of Liraglutide 3.0 mg on Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Steatotic Liver Disease in Individuals with Obesity: A Real-World Study

Introduction: Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD), a prevalent condition, can progress to liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. This study evaluated the efficacy of liraglutide 3.0 mg in treating MASLD in patients with obesity in real-world clinical settings.
Methods: Adults aged 18 years or older with BMI ≥ 27 kg/m² and obesity-related diseases were enrolled from ten tertiary hospitals across South Korea. Initially, 503 participants were included, with follow-up at two, four, and six months involving 244, 190, and 101 participants, respectively. Anthropometric and biochemical parameters, particularly MASLD-related ones, were assessed.
Results: In this cohort, liver enzymes, which serve as surrogate markers for MASLD, decreased continuously: aspartate aminotransferase from 33.2 ± 18.5 IU/L at baseline to 27.4 ± 12.8 IU/L at six months (p<0.001); alanine aminotransferase from 41.6 ± 29.9 IU/L to 30.6 ± 18.0 IU/L at six months (P<0.001). Hepatic steatosis index (HSI) and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) liver fat score also decreased significantly (HSI: 44.7 ± 6.2 to 42.2 ± 5.8 p<0.001; NAFLD liver fat score: 2.12 ± 2.90 to 0.43 ± 1.91, p<0.001). Single point insulin sensitivity estimator (SPISE), which indicates insulin sensitivity, stedily increased from 4.38 ± 0.93 to 4.72 ± 1.06 (p<0.001). No serious adverse events were reported.
Conclusion: Liraglutide 3.0 mg improved surrogate markers of MASLD in individuals with obesity, suggesting it may be a promising approach to address both conditions concurrently.