Background: Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a serious and widespread disease worldwide. Bariatric surgery is one of the treatments for NAFLD. Nesfatin-1 is located in the brain, periphery and plasma. We studied the relationship between nesfatin-1 changes after laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG) and NAFLD remission.
Methods: A total of 29 patients participated in the study, which collected clinical information on the patients and indicators of liver function, hepatic steatosis score and nesfatin-1 level before and after LSG.
Results: The average BMI of the patients before surgery was 42.63± 8.91 kg/m², and the average BMI was 28.54± 5.63 kg/m² one year after surgery (p <  0.05). One year after LSG, the total weight loss percentage (TWL%) was 32.11± 7.10%. The mean value of nesfatin-1 before surgery was 3.04± 0.81 ng/mL, and the mean value of nesfatin-1 was 5.52± 1.55 ng/mL at one year after surgery (p <  0.05). The average preoperative hepatic steatosis index (HSI) score of the patients was 52.55± 9.17, and the average postoperative HSI score was 38.84± 5.82 (p < 0.05). Before LSG (p < 0.05, r= − 0.81) and 1 year after surgery (p < 0.05, r = − 0.58), HSI and nesfatin-1 were significantly negatively correlated. Percentage of increased nesfatin-1 and percentage of decreased HSI showed positive correlation after LSG.
Conclusion: There was a negative correlation between HSI and nesfatin-1 before and after LSG, which may suggest that nesfatin-1 plays a role in NAFLD.
Keywords: nesfatin-1, NAFLD, bariatric surgery, LSG