{
  "abstract": "Introduction\n\nMASLD is common form of chronic liver disease leading to cirrhosis and liver cancer. This study evaluated the impact of bariatric surgery on the progression of MASLD.Methods\n\nThis was a retrospective study of 181 patients undergoing weight loss surgery (sleeve gastrectomy (SG = 54) or Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RGB = 127) at TidalHealth, Salisbury, MD from 2017 to 22. Non-invasive markers of fibrosis: FIB-4, MASLD Fibrosis Score (MFS), and BARD were assessed at baseline and 12-18 months post-op. Change in fibrosis was assessed using the paired t-test.Results\n\nBaseline demographics, including BMI, AST, ALT, platelet count, and comorbidities (diabetes, hypertension), are presented in Table 1. Pre- and post-op changes in non-invasive fibrosis scores are summarized in Table 2. The majority of the included patients (127) underwent gastric bypass (70.2%); whereas 54 patients underwent a gastric sleeve procedure (29.8%). Mean change in BMI was 46.2 to 37.8 (p < 0.001). A statistically significant reduction in the mean MFS (0.205 to -0.373, p = 0.0001; 95% CI: 0.28 to 0.87) was observed, indicating a shift in fibrosis scores from the indeterminate to the low-risk fibrosis category for the entire cohort. In a subgroup of 25 patients with advanced baseline fibrosis (FIB-4 > 1.4[2] ), bariatric surgery resulted in a significant reduction in MFS from 1.63 to 0.84 (p = 0.001), indicative of meaningful score-based improvement in estimated fibrosis risk. In a subgroup of patients with advanced fibrosis at baseline (n = 25 patients), the drop in BARD score was statistically significant (3.48 to 3.28; p = 0.05). The FIB-4 score showed a modest but statistically significant increase in the overall cohort (0.95 to 1.02; p = 0.004), and remained essentially unchanged in the advanced fibrosis subgroup (1.94 to 1.92; p = 0.80), highlighting the limitations of this index for longitudinal monitoring.Conclusion\n\nBariatric surgery resulted in significant improvement in non-invasive fibrosis scores of MASLD, as shown by reduction in the MFS and BARD scores in the group with advanced fibrosis. Changes in the FIB-4 scores were less consistent, suggesting this test is less useful for longitudinal assessment of fibrosis in patients with MASLD and is better suited as a screening tool.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Department of Gastroenterology, Tidal Health Peninsula Regional, Salisbury, MD, USA.",
    "Department of Internal Medicine, Tidal Health Peninsula Regional, 100 East Carroll Street, Salisbury, MD, 21801, USA. Junaid.akhanmd@gmail.com.",
    "Department of Internal Medicine, Tidal Health Peninsula Regional, 100 East Carroll Street, Salisbury, MD, 21801, USA.",
    "Department of Gastroenterology & Hepatology, Mercy Medical Center, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, USA."
  ],
  "article_type": "research article",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 9,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Ismet Lukolic"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Junaid Khan",
      "orcid": "0009-0001-4828-9929"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Michael McCabe"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Muhammad Jibran"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Mohammad Hamza"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Rajoana Rojony"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Safana Ismail"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Dhruvkumar Patel"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        3
      ],
      "name": "Anurag Maheshwari"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/f6wzddqfq4a64.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.1186/s12876-026-05187-5",
  "fulltext_url": "https://europepmc.org/articles/PMC13721685",
  "id": "f6wzddqfq4a64",
  "issns": [
    "1471-230X"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42958058",
  "language": "eng",
  "licence": "CC-BY-NC-ND",
  "licence_label": "CC BY-NC-ND",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "heading",
      "Research"
    ],
    [
      "openalex",
      "2746|Bariatric Surgery and Outcomes"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7172008755",
  "pdf_url": "https://europepmc.org/articles/PMC13721685?pdf=render",
  "pmcid": "PMC13721685",
  "pmid": "42958058",
  "published": "2026-07-31",
  "publisher": "BMC",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/f6wzddqfq4a64.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-11-01T00:20:47Z",
      "native_id": "MED:42958058",
      "source": "europepmc",
      "url": "https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42958058"
    },
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-11-03T12:22:20Z",
      "native_id": "PMC13721685",
      "source": "pmc",
      "url": "https://doi.org/10.1186/s12876-026-05187-5"
    }
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  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "medicine",
      "origin": "openalex:2746|Bariatric Surgery and Outcomes",
      "subfield": "surgery"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Effects of bariatric surgery on non-invasive markers of MASLD: a retrospective analysis.",
  "title_text": "Effects of bariatric surgery on non-invasive markers of MASLD: a retrospective analysis.",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-11-03T12:22:20Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/f6wzddqfq4a64",
  "venue": "BMC gastroenterology",
  "versions": []
}