Efficacy of empagliflozin in patients with metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease with or without diabetes: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

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Source: Frontiers Medicine

Original: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmed.2025.1712586...

Published: 2026-02-04T00:00:00Z

A meta-analysis of eight randomized controlled trials with 672 patients (353 on empagliflozin, 319 on placebo) evaluated the efficacy of empagliflozin in patients with MASLD with and without type 2 diabetes. Empagliflozin significantly reduced the levels of the liver enzymes ALT (mean difference -9.36, 95% CI: -16.07 to -2.66, p=0.006) and AST (MD -9.09, 95% CI: -15.41 to -2.78, p=0.005) compared to placebo. It also reduced triglyceride levels (MD -29.29, 95% CI: -53.14 to -5.45, p=0.02). No significant differences were found in markers of steatosis (CAP, MD -5.72, p=0.29) or liver fibrosis (LSM MD -0.49 p=0.38; APRI MD -0.02 p=0.36; FIB-4 MD -0.06 p=0.34; NFS MD p=0.36). No significant effects were found on body weight, BMI, fasting glucose or HbA1c. Empagliflozin improves liver enzymes and triglycerides, but does not affect non-invasive markers of steatosis or fibrosis. Further long-term studies with histological endpoints are needed for confirmation.