{
  "abstract": "Background/Objectives: Despite recognized physiological limitations, serum prealbumin continues to be measured during nutritional follow-up after bariatric surgery, and low concentrations may be interpreted as indicating inadequate lean-mass preservation. We aimed to evaluate the clinical utility of serum prealbumin for identifying disproportionate DXA-derived lean mass loss during the first three years after Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) and to examine its association with DXA-derived lean-mass measurements at long-term follow-up. Methods: In a longitudinal cohort of 178 adults, serum prealbumin and dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA)-derived body composition were assessed preoperatively, at 6 months, 1 year, and 3 years after surgery. Disproportionate lean mass loss was defined as lean mass accounting for >25% of total body weight lost. A complementary cross-sectional analysis examined associations between prealbumin and body composition in 310 participants assessed at a median of 8.8 years after RYGB. Results: Prealbumin decreased from an estimated 0.260 g/L preoperatively to 0.203 g/L at 6 months and partially recovered thereafter, while absolute lean mass continued to decline through 3 years. Prealbumin showed poor discrimination of disproportionate lean mass loss, with AUCs of 0.36, 0.28, and 0.48 at 6 months, 1 year, and 3 years, respectively, although estimates were imprecise because of the small number of participants meeting the criterion. The <0.20 g/L prealbumin threshold showed low sensitivity of 12–27%. Lower prealbumin concentrations were not significantly associated with the percentage of preoperative lean mass lost at any time point. In the long-term analysis, prealbumin was not meaningfully associated with DXA-derived lean mass measures after adjustment for sex, age, and time since surgery. Conclusions: Serum prealbumin showed limited discriminatory performance for identifying disproportionate DXA-derived lean mass loss during the first three years after RYGB, although estimates were imprecise because of the small number of events. In the long-term cross-sectional cohort, associations with DXA-derived lean-mass measurements were weak. These findings do not support the use of serum prealbumin as a surrogate marker of DXA-derived lean mass preservation after RYGB.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Department of Endocrinology, Diabetology and Metabolism, Lausanne University Hospital, 1011 Lausanne, Switzerland",
    "Faculty of Biology and Medicine, University of Lausanne, Rue du Bugnon 21, 1011 Lausanne, Switzerland",
    "Interdisciplinary Center for Bone Disease, Lausanne University Hospital, 1011 Lausanne, Switzerland",
    "NEXUS Personalized Health, ETH Zurich, 8092 Zurich, Switzerland",
    "Department of Visceral Surgery, Lausanne University Hospital, 1011 Lausanne, Switzerland"
  ],
  "article_type": null,
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 6,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Sara Santini"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Nathalie Vionnet",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-5420-8216"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1,
        2
      ],
      "name": "Elena Gonzalez-Rodriguez",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-6512-6008"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        3
      ],
      "name": "Jérôme Pasquier",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-5554-2988"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1,
        4
      ],
      "name": "Styliani Mantziari",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-1315-1898"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Lucie Favre",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-0337-3219"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/dz3nd0ypqy78e.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.3390/nu18213580",
  "fulltext_url": null,
  "id": "dz3nd0ypqy78e",
  "issns": [
    "2072-6643"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/18/21/3580",
  "language": null,
  "licence": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "licence_label": "CC BY 4.0",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [],
  "openalex": null,
  "pdf_url": null,
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-10-29",
  "publisher": "MDPI AG",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/dz3nd0ypqy78e.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:19:56Z",
      "native_id": "10.3390/nu18213580",
      "source": "crossref",
      "url": "https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/18/21/3580"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "medicine",
      "origin": "issn:2072-6643",
      "subfield": "nutrition"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Limited Clinical Utility of Serum Prealbumin for Assessing DXA-Derived Lean Mass After Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass: Longitudinal and Long-Term Cross-Sectional Analyses",
  "title_text": "Limited Clinical Utility of Serum Prealbumin for Assessing DXA-Derived Lean Mass After Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass: Longitudinal and Long-Term Cross-Sectional Analyses",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-31T00:21:06Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/dz3nd0ypqy78e",
  "venue": "Nutrients",
  "versions": []
}