AppLiver: Smartphone App for Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease

Sponsor

The University of Hong Kong (Other)

Overall Status

Not yet recruiting

CT.gov ID

NCT05180760

Collaborator

(none)

260

Enrollment

Location

Arms

Anticipated Duration (Months)

5.4

Patients Per Site Per Month

Study Details

Study Description

Brief Summary

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a disease spectrum that encompasses excessive liver deposition of fat (NAFL), non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), and NASH cirrhosis. NAFLD is regarded as the hepatic manifestation of metabolic syndrome and is currently the most common etiology for chronic liver disease worldwide, affecting 25% of the adult population globally. It is estimated that cirrhosis and liver-related death occur in 20% and 12%, respectively, over a 10-year period in patients with NAFLD. The incidence of decompensated cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) due to NAFLD are increasing with time. In United States, the number of patient listing for liver transplantation (LT) due to NAFLD has surpassed that of from chronic viral hepatitis and is currently the second leading cause for LT waitlist overall. Locally, the prevalence of NAFLD is estimated to be 42% according to a health census in healthy blood donors in Hong Kong, and up to 13.5% healthy subjects will develop new onset NAFLD in 3-5 years of follow-up.

Clearly, NAFLD is a chronic liver disease with alarmingly high prevalence that warrants attention. Despite the high prevalence and potential to develop serious liver-related morbidity, there are currently no approved drugs for patients with NAFLD. To achieve resolution of steatohepatitis and improvement of liver fibrosis, weight loss appears to be the only effective means.

This study is aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of a self-developed smartphone app for achieving weight loss in Chinese adults with non-alcoholic fatty-liver disease (NAFLD) at 12 months. Endorsed by the WHO, mobile technology is being increasingly used to promote health. There is a lack of research on the use of mobile technology for promoting weight loss in Chinese NAFLD patients.

Condition or Disease	Intervention/Treatment	Phase
Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease	Behavioral: Smartphone app use Behavioral: Standard of care	N/A

Detailed Description

The Investigators formed a multi-disciplinary team consisting of hepatologist, computer scientist, dietitian and endocrinologist. The investigators hypothesize that NAFLD subjects who use the dedicated smartphone app will achieve more weight loss than subjects who are managed with standard of care (SOC) without smartphone app.

The present study is a multi-center, two-arm randomized, placebo-controlled, 1:1 trial to examine the effectiveness of a self-developed simple-to-use smartphone app for NAFLD patients. The smartphone app consists of elements that track health data, provide health education, estimate calorie intake and energy expenditure. Anthropometric measurements, blood tests, transient elastography, and bioelectrical impedance analysis will be performed at baseline and 12 months. The intervention is either Smartphone app vs SOC. The main outcome measures will include changes in body weight, liver fat, liver enzyme, muscle mass, lipid and glucose profile.

Study Design

Study Type:

Interventional

Anticipated Enrollment :

260 participants

Allocation:

Randomized

Intervention Model:

Parallel Assignment

Masking:

None (Open Label)

Primary Purpose:

Supportive Care

Official Title:

Effectiveness of a Smartphone App in Promoting Weight Loss in Patients With Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease: a Pilot Multi-centre Randomized Controlled Trial

Anticipated Study Start Date :

Sep 1, 2022

Anticipated Primary Completion Date :

Aug 31, 2025

Anticipated Study Completion Date :

Aug 31, 2026

Arms and Interventions

Arm	Intervention/Treatment
Active Comparator: Smartphone app arm Use the dedicated smartphone app for NAFLD patients	Behavioral: Smartphone app use Smartphone app use in the active arm
Other: Standard of care Standard of care	Behavioral: Standard of care Standard of care

Arm

Intervention/Treatment

Active Comparator: Smartphone app arm

Use the dedicated smartphone app for NAFLD patients

Behavioral: Smartphone app use

Smartphone app use in the active arm

Other: Standard of care

Standard of care

Behavioral: Standard of care

Standard of care

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

Change in body weight [12 months]
Body weight of the participants will be measured at baseline and 12 months

Secondary Outcome Measures

Reduction in hepatic steatosis [12 months]
Hepatic steatosis will be quantified by transient elastography as expressed by controlled attenuation parameter (CAP)
ALT normalization [12 months]
ALT as part of liver biochemistry will be measured at baseline and 12 months
Reversal of sarcopenia [12 months]
Skeletal muscle mass will be quantified by bioelectrical analysis. Sarcopenia is common among subjects with NAFLD and is defined according to international guidelines.
Changes in lipid profile [12 months]
Fasting lipid profile will be measured at baseline and 12 months
Changes in glucose levels [12 months]
Fasting glucose levels will be measured at baseline and 12 months
Visceral fat reduction [12 months]
Visceral fat will be assessed using bioelectrical analysis machine at baseline and 12 months

Eligibility Criteria

Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study:

18 Years to 65 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study:

All

Accepts Healthy Volunteers:

Inclusion Criteria:

known NAFLD
able to read and understand Chinese
owns a compatible smartphone
without major cognitive impairment.

Exclusion Criteria:

on SGLT-2 inhibitors, GLP-1 agonists, or thiazolidinediones
patients with cirrhosis
patients who are pregnant
patients on special diet or with special dietary requirement (e.g. vegan, gluten free)
patients with heavy alcohol use (≥20 grams/ day for women or ≥30 grams/ day for men)
history of HCC or LT