For people with HIV and belly fat who have high liver enzyme levels, those who lose at least 8% of their visceral fat see a bigger drop in ALT levels than those who don't lose that much fat.

Scientific Claim

In HIV-infected individuals with abdominal obesity and elevated baseline alanine aminotransferase (ALT) or aspartate aminotransferase (AST) levels, a ≥8% reduction in visceral adipose tissue (VAT) is associated with greater reductions in ALT levels compared to those without such reduction (−8.9 ± 22.6 vs. 1.4 ± 34.7 U/L, P = 0.004).

Original Statement

“In subjects assigned to tesamorelin with baseline ALT or AST > 30 U/L, VAT responders experienced greater reductions in ALT (−8.9 ± 22.6 vs. 1.4 ± 34.7 U/L, P = 0.004) and AST (−3.8 ± 12.9 vs. 0.4 ± 22.4 U/L, P = 0.04) compared with nonresponders over 26 weeks.”

From study:Visceral fat reduction with tesamorelin is associated with improved liver enzymes in HIV

Evidence Quality Assessment

Claim Status

appropriately stated

Study Design Support

Design supports claim

Appropriate Language Strength

association

Can only show association/correlation

Assessment Explanation

The study is an RCT with unknown blinding status, so causation cannot be confirmed. The claim uses 'associated with' which correctly reflects the observational nature of the association within the trial data.

Evidence from Studies

Supporting (1)

Visceral fat reduction with tesamorelin is associated with improved liver enzymes in HIV

Randomized Controlled Trial

Human

2017 Oct 23

Contradicting (0)

No contradicting evidence found

Source Study

Visceral fat reduction with tesamorelin is associated with improved liver enzymes in HIV

Score: 62

DOI: 10.1097/QAD.0000000000001614

Similar Assertions

In people with HIV and belly fat, having more visceral fat was linked to higher levels of a liver enzyme called ALT, which suggests a connection between belly fat and liver health.

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HIV patients with belly fat and high liver enzymes who lose at least 8% of visceral fat see a bigger drop in AST levels than those who don't lose that much fat.

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For HIV patients with belly fat and high liver enzymes, taking a placebo even if they lost visceral fat didn't help lower their liver enzyme levels, unlike those taking the actual drug.

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For people with HIV and belly fat who have high liver enzyme levels, those who lost at least 8% of their visceral fat from the drug had much bigger drops in their liver enzyme numbers compared to those who didn't lose much fat, and this difference was statistically significant.

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In HIV patients with belly fat, higher amounts of visceral fat were linked to higher liver enzyme levels at the start of the study.

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