1. Characteristics of included studies (by comparison).
| Study name (total participants randomised) | Intervention(s) | Control | Total after post‐randomisation drop‐outs (number who dropped out) | NASH | NASH only | Diabetes mellitus | People with diabetes only | People without diabetes mellitus only | Average follow‐up period (months) |
| Fogari 2012 (150) | Renin‐angiotensin‐aldosterone system inhibitor | Antihypertensives | 141 (9) | Not stated | Not stated | 0/141 (0.0%) | No | Yes | 12 |
| Ersoz 2005 (57) | Bile acids | Antioxidants | 56 (1) | 6/56 (10.7%) | No | 14/56 (25.0%) | No | No | 6 |
| Harrison 2009 (50) | Orlistat plus antioxidants | Antioxidants | 41 (9) | 41/41 (100.0%) | Yes | 4/41 (9.8%) | No | No | 9 |
| Kedarisetty 2014 (116) | Pentoxifylline plus antioxidants | Antioxidants | 116 (0) | 116/116 (100.0%) | Yes | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | 12 |
| Polyzos 2011 (31) | Renin‐angiotensin‐aldosterone system inhibitor plus antioxidants | Antioxidants | 31 (not stated) | 16/31 (51.6%) | No | 5/31 (16.1%) | No | No | 2 |
| Bugianesi 2005 (57) | Sulphonylureas | Antioxidants | 57 (not stated) | Not stated | Not stated | 0/57 (0.0%) | No | Yes | 12 |
| Sanyal 2010 (247) | Thiazolidinediones | Antioxidants | 247 (0) | 247/247 (100.0%) | Yes | 0/247 (0.0%) | No | Yes | 22 |
| Basu 2013 (80) | Thiazolidinediones | Antioxidants | 80 (not stated) | Not stated | Not stated | 0/80 (0.0%) | No | Yes | 12 |
| Sanyal 2004 (20) | Thiazolidinediones plus antioxidants | Antioxidants | 20 (0) | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | 6 |
| Parikh 2016 (250) | Antioxidants | Bile acids | 233 (17) | 35/233 (15.0%) | No | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | 12 |
| Copaci 2009 (94) | Intervention 1: Pentoxifylline Intervention 2: Pentoxifylline plus bile acids | Bile acids | 94 (not stated) | 94/94 (100.0%) | Yes | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | 12 |
| Stilidi 2014 (58) | Renin‐angiotensin‐aldosteronesystem inhibitor plus bile acids | Bile acids | 58 (not stated) | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | 6 |
| Shiffman 2015 (38) | Anti‐caspase | No intervention | 38 (not stated) | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | 1 |
| Ratziu 2016 (276) | Anti‐fibrotic | No intervention | 274 (2) | 274/274 (100.0%) | Yes | 107/274 (39.1%) | No | No | 12 |
| Harrison 2003 (49) | Antioxidants | No intervention | 45 (4) | 45/45 (100.0%) | Yes | 19/45 (42.2%) | No | No | 6 |
| Kugelmas 2003 (16) | Antioxidants | No intervention | 16 (not stated) | 16/16 (100.0%) | Yes | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | 3 |
| Gomez 2009 (60) | Antioxidants | No intervention | 60 (0) | 60/60 (100.0%) | Yes | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | 6 |
| Magosso 2013 (87) | Antioxidants | No intervention | 87 (0) | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | 12 |
| Basu 2014 (155) | Antioxidants | No intervention | 155 (0) | Not stated | Not stated | 0/155 (0.0%) | No | Yes | 6 |
| Santos 2003 (30) | Bile acids | No intervention | 30 (not stated) | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | 3 |
| Lindor 2004 (174) | Bile acids | No intervention | 166 (8) | 166/166 (100.0%) | Yes | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | 24 |
| Mendez‐Sanchez 2004 (27) | Bile acids | No intervention | 23 (4) | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | 1 |
| Leuschner 2010 (186) | Bile acids | No intervention | 186 (0) | 186/186 (100.0%) | Yes | 21/186 (11.3%) | No | No | 18 |
| Ratziu 2011 (126) | Bile acids | No intervention | 126 (0) | 126/126 (100.0%) | Yes | 40/126 (31.7%) | No | No | 12 |
| Mudaliar 2013 (64) | Bile acids | No intervention | 64 (0) | Not stated | Not stated | 64/64 (100.0%) | Yes | No | 1 |
| Safadi 2014 (60) | Bile acids | No intervention | 57 (3) | 6/57 (10.5%) | No | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | 4 |
| Neuschwander‐Tetri 2015 (283) | Bile acids | No intervention | 283 (not stated) | 283/283 (100.0%) | Yes | 149/283 (52.7%) | No | No | 17 |
| Gianturco 2013 (200) | Intervention 1: Bile acids plus antioxidants Intervention 2: Antioxidants Intervention 3: Bile acids | No intervention | 196 (4) | Not stated | Not stated | 0/196 (0.0%) | No | Yes | 12 |
| Dufour 2006 (48) | Intervention 1: Bile acids plus antioxidants Intervention 2: Bile acids | No intervention | 40 (8) | 40/40 (100.0%) | Yes | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | 24 |
| Stefan 2014 (82) | Glucocorticosteroid inhibitor | No intervention | 80 (2) | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | 3 |
| Morita 2005 (10) | Other anti‐diabetes medication | No intervention | 10 (not stated) | 10/10 (100.0%) | Yes | 10/10 (100.0%) | Yes | No | 5 |
| Armstrong 2016 (52) | Other anti‐diabetes medication | No intervention | 52 (0) | 52/52 (100.0%) | Yes | 17/52 (32.7%) | No | No | 17 |
| Wang 2015 (68) | Intervention 1: Other anti‐diabetes medication Intervention 1: Sulphonylureas plus other anti‐diabetes medication Sulphonylureas | No intervention | 68 (not stated) | Not stated | Not stated | 68/68 (100.0%) | Yes | No | 6 |
| Merat 2003 (30) | Other cholesterol‐lowering agents | No intervention | 27 (3) | 27/27 (100.0%) | Yes | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | 6 |
| Loomba 2015 (50) | Other cholesterol‐lowering agents | No intervention | 50 (not stated) | 50/50 (100.0%) | Yes | 14/50 (28.0%) | No | No | 6 |
| Van Wagner 2011 (30) | Pentoxifylline | No intervention | 26 (4) | 26/26 (100.0%) | Yes | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | 12 |
| Ratziu 2014 (99) | Phosphodiesterase type 4 inhibitor | No intervention | 96 (3) | 96/96 (100.0%) | Yes | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | 3 |
| Alam 2016 (50) | Renin‐angiotensin‐aldosterone system inhibitor | No intervention | 30 (20) | 30/30 (100.0%) | Yes | 8/30 (26.7%) | No | No | 12 |
| Hajaghamohammadi 2008 (50) | Silymarin | No intervention | 50 (not stated) | Not stated | Not stated | 0/50 (0.0%) | No | Yes | 2 |
| Hashemi 2009 (100) | Silymarin | No intervention | 100 (not stated) | 100/100 (100.0%) | Yes | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | 6 |
| Taghvaei 2013 (41) | Silymarin | No intervention | 41 (not stated) | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | 6 |
| Solhi 2014 (80) | Silymarin | No intervention | 64 (16) | Not stated | Not stated | 0/64 (0.0%) | No | Yes | 2 |
| Chan 2015 (64) | Silymarin | No intervention | 64 (not stated) | 64/64 (100.0%) | Yes | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | 11 |
| Aller 2015 (36) | Silymarin plus antioxidants | No intervention | 36 (not stated) | 15/36 (41.7%) | No | 0/36 (0.0%) | No | Yes | 3 |
| Bonfrate 2015 (40) | Silymarin plus antioxidants | No intervention | 40 (not stated) | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | 6 |
| Lewis 2006 (175) | Statins | No intervention | 175 (not stated) | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | 9 |
| Nelson 2009 (16) | Statins | No intervention | 16 (0) | 16/16 (100.0%) | Yes | 7/16 (43.8%) | No | No | 12 |
| Baranova 2015 (20) | Statins | No intervention | 20 (not stated) | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | 6 |
|
Foster 2011 (80) |
Statins plus antioxidants | No intervention | 80 (not stated) | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated |
| Uygun 2004 (36) | Sulphonylureas | No intervention | 34 (2) | 34/34 (100.0%) | Yes | 0/34 (0.0%) | No | Yes | 6 |
| Haukeland 2009 (48) | Sulphonylureas | No intervention | 44 (4) | Not stated | Not stated | 12/44 (27.3%) | No | No | 6 |
| Nar 2009 (34) | Sulphonylureas | No intervention | 34 (not stated) | Not stated | Not stated | 34/34 (100.0%) | Yes | No | 6 |
| Shields 2009 (19) | Sulphonylureas | No intervention | 19 (not stated) | 19/19 (100.0%) | Yes | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | 12 |
| Garinis 2010 (50) | Sulphonylureas | No intervention | 45 (5) | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | 6 |
| Sofer 2011 (63) | Sulphonylureas | No intervention | 63 (not stated) | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | 4 |
| Belfort 2006 (55) | Thiazolidinediones | No intervention | 47 (8) | 47/47 (100.0%) | Yes | 0/47 (0.0%) | No | Yes | 6 |
| Cui 2006 (124) | Thiazolidinediones | No intervention | 124 (not stated) | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | 6 |
| Aithal 2008 (74) | Thiazolidinediones | No intervention | 74 (0) | 74/74 (100.0%) | Yes | 0/74 (0.0%) | No | Yes | 12 |
| Ratziu 2008 (64) | Thiazolidinediones | No intervention | 63 (1) | 63/63 (100.0%) | Yes | 20/63 (31.7%) | No | No | 16 |
| Gastaldelli 2009 (48) | Thiazolidinediones | No intervention | 48 (not stated) | 48/48 (100.0%) | Yes | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | 6 |
| Yaginuma 2009 (20) | Thiazolidinediones | No intervention | 20 (not stated) | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | 12 |
| Jin 2010 (120) | Thiazolidinediones | No intervention | 120 (not stated) | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | 6 |
| Cusi 2013 (101) | Thiazolidinediones | No intervention | 101 (not stated) | 101/101 (100.0%) | Yes | 52/101 (51.5%) | No | No | 18 |
| Kakazu 2013 (25) | Thiazolidinediones | No intervention | 24 (1) | 24/24 (100.0%) | Yes | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | 24 |
| Sunny 2015 (50) | Thiazolidinediones | No intervention | 50 (not stated) | 50/50 (100.0%) | Yes | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | 18 |
| Yan 2015 (122) | Thiazolidinediones | No intervention | 122 (not stated) | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | 4 |
| Athyros 2006 (186) | Intervention 1: Statins Intervention 2: Statins plus other cholesterol‐lowering agents | Other cholesterol‐lowering agents | 186 (0) | Not stated | Not stated | 0/186 (0.0%) | No | Yes | 12 |
| Razavizadeh 2012 (100) | Antioxidants | Silymarin | 100 (not stated) | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | 2 |
| Hajiaghamohammadi 2012 (66) | Intervention 1: Thiazolidinediones Intervention 2: Sulphonylureas | Silymarin | 66 (not stated) | Not stated | Not stated | 0/66 (0.0%) | No | Yes | 2 |
| Siddique 2015 (67) | Thiazolidinediones | Statins | 67 (not stated) | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | 6 |
| Klyarytskaya 2015 (51) | Renin‐angiotensin‐aldosterone system inhibitor plus statins plus antioxidants | Statins plus antioxidants | 51 (not stated) | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | 12 |
| Askarimoghadam 2013 (93) | Sulphonylureas plus antioxidants | Sulphonylureas | 93 (not stated) | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | 6 |
| Song 2014 (70) | Sulphonylureas plus other anti‐diabetes medication | Sulphonylureas | 67 (3) | Not stated | Not stated | 67/67 (100.0%) | Yes | No | 4 |
| Sharma 2012 (60) | Pentoxifylline | Thiazolidinediones | 59 (1) | 59/59 (100.0%) | Yes | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | 6 |
| Omer 2010 (64) | Sulphonylureas | Thiazolidinediones | 64 (not stated) | 64/64 (100.0%) | Yes | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | 12 |
| Razavizade 2013 (80) | Sulphonylureas | Thiazolidinediones | 80 (0) | Not stated | Not stated | 6/80 (7.5%) | No | No | 4 |
| Torres 2011 (135) | Intervention 1: Thiazolidinediones plus renin‐angiotensin‐aldosterone system inhibitor Intervention 2: Thiazolidinediones plus sulphonylureas | Thiazolidinediones | 89 (46) | 89/89 (100.0%) | Yes | 18/89 (20.2%) | No | No | 11 |
NASH: non‐alcoholic steatohepatitis.