Sarcopenia Among Patients With Metabolic Dysfunction-associated Steatotic Liver Disease

May 14, 2026 updated by: Arwa AboBakr Ahmed Ibrahim, Assiut University
- Determination of sarcopenia frequency among patients with metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease 2- Exploring the association of sarcopenia with disease state (steatosis grade and fibrosis) among patients with metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease

Study Overview

Status

Not yet recruiting

Conditions

Detailed Description

Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) is recognized as the most common cause of chronic liver disease, with the most recent meta-analysis suggesting that more than 38% of the world's adult population and up to 14% of paediatric population are affected [1].

Sarcopenia is defined as the degenerative loss of skeletal muscle mass, strength, and function with age [2]. While sarcopenia predominantly targets older demographics, it can also manifest in younger populations under certain circumstances such as prolonged periods of physical inactivity, severe malnutrition or eating disorders, and chronic diseases that affect muscle mass and function, like cancer [3]. Prevalence rates up to 13% in those aged 60-70, escalating to 50% in individuals over 80, with an accelerated decline in muscle mass beginning around 50 years of age and strength at 65 were reported [4].

Emerging evidence suggests that sarcopenia may not only be a consequence of MASLD progression but also a contributing factor to disease development and severity. Patients with MASLD exhibit a significantly higher prevalence of sarcopenia compared to healthy controls, with odds ratios ranging from 1.25 to 2.08 [5,6]. MASLD and sarcopenia have several risk factors in common such as insulin resistance (IR) [7].

Our study aims to explore the relation between sarcopenia MASLD progression. Such a conflict was a provocation for a research question to answer if there is a relation between sarcopenia and MASLD progression.

Study Type

Observational

Enrollment (Estimated)

120

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

  • Name: Arwa AboBakr Ahmed Ibrahim, Resident of Tropical Medicine
  • Phone Number: 20+01270188007 20+01204935356
  • Email: rbkr238@gmail.com

Study Contact Backup

  • Name: Dr.Ahmad Farooq Alsayed Hasanain, Professor of Tropical Medicine
  • Phone Number: 20+01020288660
  • Email: a.fh@au.egun.ed

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Sampling Method

Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Adult patients diagnosed with metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) attending the Department of Tropical Medicine & Gastroenterology at Al-Rajhy Liver Hospital, Assiut University, during the study period.

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

The study is intended to include adult patients with metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease which will be diagnosed based on imaging study plus one of the following criteria [8]:

  1. BMI ≥ 25 kg/m2 or waist circumference > 94 cm in men, > 80 cm in women
  2. Fasting serum glucose ≥ 100 mg/dL (≥ 5.6 mmol/L) or 2-hour post-load glucose level ≥ 140 mg/dL (≥ 7.8 mmol/L) or hemoglobin A1C (HbA1C) ≥ 5.7% or on specific drug treatment
  3. Blood pressure ≥ 130/85 mmHg or specific drug treatment
  4. Plasma triglycerides ≥ 150 mg/dL (≥ 1.70 mmol/L) or specific drug treatment
  5. Plasma high-density lipoprotein (HDL)-cholesterol < 40 mg/dL (< 1.0 mmol/L) for men and < 50 mg/dL (< 1.3 mmol/L) for women or specific drug treatment For significant steatosis grading, hepatic steatosis index (HSI) will be used (BMI, diabetes mellitus, and aspartate aminotransferase (AST)/alanine aminotransferase (ALT) ratio; cut-off score: >36). [9].

For significant fibrosis staging, both liver stiffness measurement and several fibrosis scores will be used. Fibrosis scores will include NAFLD fibrosis score (BMI, age, hyperglycemia, AST/ALT ratio, albumin, and platelet count; cut-off score: ≥ 0.675) [9].

Exclusion Criteria:

  1. Age less than 18 years old or more than 65 years old
  2. Pregnant patients
  3. Chronic hepatitis C virus and/or hepatitis B virus infection
  4. Any alcohol consumption
  5. Autoimmune hepatitis
  6. Hepatic and/or extrahepatic neoplastic disorders
  7. Medication and/or substance use which may lead to hepatic steatosis and/or injury
  8. Eating disorders
  9. Comorbidities such as neuromuscular, pulmonary, and renal disorders
  10. Use of anabolic steroids

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Sarcopenia in metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease
Time Frame: 1 year
Predictors of sarcopenia among patients with metabolic associated steatotic liver disease
1 year

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Sarcopenia in metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease
Time Frame: 1 year
Predictors of severe steatosis and fibrosis among patients with metabolic associated steatotic liver disease
1 year

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Assiut University

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Estimated)

June 1, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

June 1, 2027

Study Completion (Estimated)

July 1, 2027

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

May 14, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

May 14, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

May 20, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

May 20, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

May 14, 2026

Last Verified

May 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • Sarcopenia in MASLD patient

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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