Acceptability and Feasibility of a New Approach to Engage Patients With Steatotic Liver Disease in Physical Activity

Steatosis is the building of fat in the liver. Steatotic liver disease (SLD) regroups MASLD (metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease) and MASH (metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis) i.e. MASLD with inflammation. An estimated 30% of the population worldwide has MASLD and 5% of Canadians have MASH. MASH is a leading cause of liver transplantation in Canada. There is no cure for SLD, and the treatment relies on diet, weight loss, and physical activity (PA).

Is a counselling intervention to help patients progressively engage in more PA a feasible and acceptable approach? Objectives. This proposal has three primary objectives: 1) To assess the feasibility of our PA counselling intervention (to be delivered online) with SLD patients; 2) To evaluate the acceptability of our intervention; 3) To evaluate the feasibility of the study methods/procedures.

Methodology. This study is an open-label, mono-centred, single-case experimental design with multiple base levels. The study will comprise 3 phases, alternating periods of observation (A) and 1 period of counselling (B) with an A1-B-A2 design.

PA will be assessed continuously using an accelerometer for 7 to 14 days per (A) phase. During phase (B), participants will receive the intervention, i.e. 6 x 45-minute, real-time, face-to-face, virtual sessions with a PA counsellor.

Based on past studies, our sample size will be 12 participants. They will be recruited through the hepatology clinic at Hôpital Montfort.

The primary outcomes of the project are to evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of the trial and intervention. The secondary outcomes are Daily PA time and biological/imaging data evolution