DDW

DDW 2025: GLP-1 drugs rival bariatric surgery for patients with diabetes, MASLD, and MASH

May 7, 2025

A recent study presented at Digestive Disease Week (DDW) 2025 compared the effectiveness of bariatric surgery and GLP-1 drugs in patients with metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) or metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH), T2DM, and obesity. The retrospective analysis involved records from over 1,200 patients, split between those who underwent bariatric surgery and those who took GLP-1 drugs. Findings indicated no significant difference in hypertension and major non-fatal CV outcomes between the two groups at five and ten years post-treatment. However, patients who had bariatric surgery showed a lower short-term risk of chronic kidney disease. Conversely, the GLP-1 group demonstrated improved mortality and hepatic disease progression outcomes over the same periods. These findings underscore the importance of a personalized, comorbidity-driven approach to treatment selection for this high-risk patient group.

Source:

(2025, May 3). Digestive Disease Week. Bariatric Surgery and GLP-1 Drugs Offer Varying Benefits to Patients with Triple Comorbidities. [News release]. https://news.ddw.org/news/bariatric-surgery-and-glp-1-drugs-offer-varying-benefits-to-patients-with-triple-comorbidities/ https://news.ddw.org/news/bariatric-surgery-and-glp-1-drugs-offer-varying-benefits-to-patients-with-triple-comorbidities/