Background and objectives: The role of ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) in Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is not well-defined. In this meta-analysis, we analyzed the efficacy of UDCA for the treatment of NAFLD.
Methods and study design: We searched the Web of Science, Pubmed, Embase and Cochrane library databases for relevant studies published before September 1, 2019. The randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that investigated the effectiveness of UDCA in NAFLD were selected and examined by Stata (version 12.0).
Results: The forest plot displayed that UDCA treatment can significantly decrease the ALT (alanine aminotransferase) levels (p=0.007). Further, its' significant role in subgroup analyses (p=0.003 in people from Europe, p=0.001 in people older than 50 years and p=0.008 in longer duration).
Conclusions: Although UDCA treatment was found beneficial in ALT-lowering, future meta-analysis will be required to fully confirm and validate the efficacy of UDCA in NAFL.