ArticleCureus2025
Impact of Metformin Use on Liver Function Tests in Diabetic Patients With Suspected Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD): A Cross-Sectional Analysis.
Article in Cureus, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundNon-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is highly prevalent among patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and is often associated with elevated liver enzymes.
objectiveTo assess the impact of metformin use on liver function tests in diabetic patients with clinically suspected NAFLD.
methodsThis was a cross-sectional analytical study conducted at Jinnah Hospital, Lahore, Pakistan, from July 2024 to December 2024. A total of 185 adult patients were enrolled in the study. Non-probability consecutive sampling was used to recruit participants who met the inclusion criteria. Demographic data, including age, gender, body mass index (BMI), and duration of diabetes, were recorded. Clinical records were reviewed to document metformin use (yes/no), dosage, and duration.
resultsOut of 185 patients, 115 (62.2%) were metformin users and 70 (37.8%) were non-users. Metformin users had significantly lower mean alanine aminotransferase (ALT) (41.3 ± 14.6 IU/L vs. 54.7 ± 18.2 IU/L; p < 0.001) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) levels (35.2 ± 12.4 IU/L vs. 44.6 ± 15.7 IU/L; p = 0.002) compared to non-users. No significant differences were observed in alkaline phosphatase (ALP) and gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT) levels. Elevated ALT and AST were significantly less frequent in metformin users (p < 0.01). A weak inverse correlation was observed between metformin dose and ALT levels (r = -0.19, p = 0.043).
conclusionIt is concluded that metformin use is associated with improved liver enzyme profiles in diabetic patients with suspected NAFLD. These findings suggest a potential hepatoprotective role for metformin, warranting further longitudinal studies to explore its impact on liver histology and long-term hepatic outcomes.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What Socratic holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.