New diabetes and liver guidelines point to earlier, more integrated treatment focused on weight, cardiovascular and kidney risk, and protection from metabolic liver disease.
At this year’s European Association for the Study of Diabetes meeting in Milan, metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease, or MASLD, emerged as part of a broader shift in diabetes care: away from glucose alone and towards weight, cardiovascular risk and liver protection. The discussion reflected a growing recognition that type 2 diabetes, obesity and fatty liver disease often overlap and should be managed together rather than as separate problems.
That change is echoed in the new joint consensus report from the American Diabetes Association and the European Association for the Study of Diabetes, which says treatment for type 2 diabetes should now be framed more holistically. According to the report, care should account for weight management as well as protection of the heart, kidneys and liver, with earlier use of medicines such as SGLT2 inhibitors and GLP-1-based therapies considered in many adults, even from diagnosis in some cases.
The liver-specific guidance published by the European Association for the Study of the Liver, the European Association for the Study of Diabetes and the European Association for the Study of Obesity adds a more targeted dimension. It reviews the place of resmetirom and semaglutide in MASLD and steatohepatitis, reflecting increasing interest in drugs that may address both metabolic risk and liver injury. The document also underlines that MASLD is not simply a biochemical abnormality on a scan or blood test, but a condition associated with major cardiovascular and liver-related complications.
Alongside that, the ADA’s 2026 Standards of Care reinforce how quickly diabetes management is changing. The updated recommendations expand the role of continuous glucose monitoring, support earlier access to automated insulin delivery systems and set out more individualised advice on obesity medicines, kidney disease treatment and nutrition patterns for preventing type 2 diabetes. Taken together, these developments suggest that the field is moving towards a more integrated model in which liver disease is no longer treated as an afterthought, but as part of the same cardiometabolic risk continuum.
Disclaimer: This content is for informational purposes only and is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical judgment, advice, diagnosis, or treatment.
