Glycemic variability in type 2 diabetic patients with metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease: a case-control study.

Aims: A case-control study was conducted to assess glycemic variability (GV) in individuals diagnosed with metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), as well as in those with either condition independently.

Methods: This study encompassed 2897 consecutive inpatients diagnosed with diabetes at the Department of Endocrinology, Ningbo No.2 Hospital. Patients with MASLD were matched to patients without MASLD based on age and sex. GV was evaluated utilizing glucose standard deviation (SD), coefficient of variation (CV), and mean amplitude of glycemic excursions (MAGE). HOMA-IR and HOMA-β indices were used to assess insulin resistance and islet β-cell function. The degree of hepatic fibrosis was graded using the FIB-4 score. SPSS software (version 26.0) was used for the statistical analysis.

Results: 1. MASLD was diagnosed in 41.66% of T2DM inpatients. Among individuals with normal body weight, 32.45% suffered from MASLD, whereas the prevalence significantly escalated to 77.55% among those classified as obese. Based on the FIB-4 index, 47.11% of DM + MASLD patients were at risk for the development of hepatic fibrosis, with 7.85% classified as at high risk for advanced liver fibrosis. 2. In contrast to the DM+Non-MASLD cohort, the DM+MASLD group displayed markedly reduced GV, lower incidence of hypoglycemia, and elevated HOMA-IR and HOMA-β values (all p < 0.001). 3. The CV showed a direct positive correlation with HbA1c (β = 0.367, p < 0.001) in patients with coexisting T2DM and MASLD.

Conclusions: Patients with T2DM and MASLD exhibit reduced GV and a lower incidence of hypoglycemia but more serious insulin resistance. Effective control of HbA1c is essential to mitigate GV in these patients.