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SYSTEMATIC REVIEW article

Front. Nutr.
Sec. Clinical Nutrition
Volume 12 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fnut.2025.1524830

Efficacy of fish oil supplementation on Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease: a meta-analysis

Provisionally accepted
Like Joe Like Joe *Dong-Mei Sun Dong-Mei Sun Hou-Qiao Bai Hou-Qiao Bai
  • Weihai Maternal and Child Health Hospital, Weihai, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Objective: Globally, the occurrence of Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) is on a steady rise. Fish oil has anti-inflammatory effects and can improve lipid metabolism. The article aims to assess the impact of fish oil supplementation on MASLD.Methods: We conducted a systematic search of Cochrane, Embase, PubMed, and Web of Science up to September 31, 2024, for randomized control trials (RCTs). The risk of bias of the included RCTs was evaluated using the Cochrane Collaboration's tool.Outcomes measured were aspects of liver injury, lipid profile, insulin resistance, anthropometric measurements, and more.Results: Seven randomized controlled trials (RCTs) involving 439 participants were incorporated into the analysis. In general, the risk of bias in these RCTs was either low or not clearly defined. Pooled analysis showed that triglycerides (TG,pooled standard mean difference (SMD):-0.40 (95% CI: -0.58 to -0.21)), aspartate transaminase(AST,SMD:-0.29 (95% CI: -0.48 to -0.10)), HOMA-IR (SMD:-2.06 (95% CI: -3.36 to -0.49)) and waist circumference(Waist-C,SMD :-0.31 (95% CI:-0.54 to -0.08))were significantly improved. But showed no significant benefits on alanine transaminase (ALT,SMD:-0.15 (95% CI: -0.45 to 0.15)), gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase (GGT,SMD:-0.07 (95% CI: -0.26 to 0.12)), body mass index(BMI,SMD:0.16 (95% CI: -0.34 to 0.02)), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL,SMD:0.02 (95% CI: -0.18 to 0.22)), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL,SMD:-0.01 (95% CI: -0.20 to 0.18)), Total Cholesterol(TC,SMD:-0.34 (95% CI:-0.70 to 0.01)) and so on.Conclusions: The current evidence supports the fish oil supplementation in improving MASLD. Fish oil supplementation may also regulate blood lipids and improve glucose metabolism disorders.

    Keywords: MASLD, fish oil, meta-analysis Abbreviations MASLD:Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease, Meta - analysis, NAFLD

    Received: 08 Nov 2024; Accepted: 08 Jan 2025.

    Copyright: © 2025 Joe, Sun and Bai. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Like Joe, Weihai Maternal and Child Health Hospital, Weihai, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.