Table 1 Baseline clinical characteristics

Demographic and Anthropometric Profile

 Age (years)

53.8 (12.5)

49.6 (10.2)

56.3 (10.1)

55.1 (16.4)

0.171

 Male sex (n, %)

24 (54.5)

8 (57.1)

9 (56.2)

7 (50.0)

0.917

 BMI (kg/m²)

28.7 (3.4)

30.4 (3.1)

27.5 (3.0)

28.4 (3.7)

0.050

 Waist circumference (cm)

98 (9)

100 (9)

97 (7)

97 (11)

0.419

 Hypertension (n, %)

23 (52.3)

7 (50.0)

11 (68.8)

5 (35.7)

0.191

 Dyslipidemia (n, %)

42 (95.5)

14 (100.0)

15 (93.8)

13 (92.9)

0.609

 CVD (n, %)

19 (43.2)

3 (21.4)

10 (62.5)

6 (42.9)

0.077

 Systolic blood pressure (mmHg)

128 (10)

124 (10)

128 (11)

130 (8)

0.383

 Diastolic blood pressure (mmHg)

78 (8)

78 (6)

79 (10)

79 (7)

0.859

 Duration of diabetes (yr)^a

7.0 [4.0, 14.0]

4.0 [3.0, 6.5]

11.5 [6.3, 18.0]

9.0 [4.2, 12.8]

0.073

Glucometabolic Profile

 Fasting glucose (mg/dL)^a

164 [146, 193]

148 [138, 161]

171 [136, 198]

178 [163, 197]

0.047

 Fasting insulin (μU/mL)^a

13.4 [8.7, 20.6]

20.3 [12.1, 23.9]

10.5 [9.1, 14.1]

12.0 [7.2, 17.9]

0.096

 HbA1c (%)

8.2 (0.8)

8.0 (0.6)

8.5 (1.0)

8.4 (0.6)

0.155

 HOMA-β (%)^a

44.1 [23.1, 75.8]

77.6 [42.9, 101.0]

39.4 [23.1, 63.2]

39.0 [21.6, 64.0]

0.049

 HOMA-IR (mg/dL*μIU/mL)^a

5.3 [3.8, 8.1]

6.5 [4.7, 8.7]

4.6 [3.2, 6.0]

4.7 [3.2, 8.3]

0.300

 Adiponectin (μg/mL)^a

2.6 [2.1, 3.9]

2.5 [2.2, 3.6]

2.6 [2.1, 3.5]

3.6 [1.8, 4.1]

0.713

 Leptin (ng/mL)^a

6.4 [3.2, 10.1]

5.5 [3.1, 10.6]

6.7 [4.1, 8.2]

7.1 [3.4, 13.9]

0.857

Body Composition Variable

 Visceral fat area (cm²)^a

186 [154, 214]

175 [156, 243]

197 [159, 210]

183 [138, 199]

0.777

 Subcutaneous fat area (cm²)

191 (79)

213 (74)

167 (72)

197 (88)

0.286

MASLD-Related Parameter

 AST (IU/L)

36 (18)

35 (10)

33 (22)

42 (22)

0.411

 ALT (IU/L)^a

49 [29, 61]

55 [49, 59]

31 [21, 59]

44 [35, 70]

0.207

 ALP (IU/L)^a

66 [58, 76]

69 [56, 80]

67 [64, 76]

64 [58, 75]

0.577

 GGT (IU/L)^a

50 [37, 68]

47 [36, 60]

51 [42, 59]

55 [22, 89]

0.916

 Hepatic steatosis index^a

42.0 [38.9, 46.6]

47.5 [42.7, 49.3]

40.0 [38.3, 42.8]

40.5 [39.5, 44.4]

0.012

 FIB-4 index

1.39 (1.24)

1.45 (1.36)

1.49 (1.58)

1.21 (0.50)

0.818

 Liver fat by MRI-PDFF (%)^a

15 [11, 22]

15 [10, 20]

19 [13, 23]

14 [13, 26]

0.593

 Liver stiffness by MRE (kPa)^a

2.15 [1.70, 2.40]

2.20 [1.80, 2.85]

2.15 [1.69, 2.35]

2.15 [1.70, 2.35]

0.653

Antidiabetic Medication Use

 Metformin (n, %)

44 (100.0)

14 (100.0)

16 (100.0)

14 (100.0)

NA

 Dose of metformin (mg/d)

1000 [1000, 1700]

1000 [1000, 1500]

1000 [1000, 1700]

1500 [1000, 1700]

0.467

 Sulfonylurea (n, %)^b

10 (22.7)

5 (35.7)

3 (18.8)

2 (14.3)

0.358

 DPP-4i (n, %)^b

37 (84.1)

11 (78.6)

15 (93.8)

11 (78.6)

0.416

 Insulin (n, %)^b

10 (22.7)

2 (14.3)

7 (43.8)

1 (7.1)

0.038