Health & Medicinearticle2026-09-28

Baseline Liver Metabolic Health in Newly Diagnosed People Living with HIV Compared with HIV-Negative Controls: Cross-Sectional Findings from the Prospective MASHIV-TR Cohort

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Abstract

Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) is an important comorbidity in people living with HIV (PLWH), yet most data derive from individuals receiving antiretroviral therapy (ART). In the baseline cross-sectional analysis of the prospective multicentre MASHIV-TR cohort (nine centres, Türkiye), we compared 250 newly diagnosed, ART-naïve PLWH and 161 HIV-negative controls. Hepatic steatosis and liver stiffness were assessed by vibration-controlled transient elastography; MASLD was defined as hepatic steatosis, indicated by CAP ≥ 248 dB/m together with at least one cardiometabolic risk factor. MASLD prevalence was similar in the two groups (25.2% vs. 30.4%; p = 0.245), and HIV status was not independently associated with CAP in PLWH (+10.69 dB/m per 50 mg/dL) or in controls (+9.26 dB/m), whereas CD4 and CD8 counts, the CD4/CD8 ratio and HIV-RNA were not associated with the liver outcome. Before ART, hepatic steatosis tracked metabolic rather than HIV-specific markers.

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View paper (DOI)Open access versionOpenAlexInternational Journal of Molecular SciencesPublished 2026-09-28

Authors: Çiğdem Mermutluoğlu, Yeşim Taşova, Ayşe Özlem Mete, İlkay Karaoğlan, Hüsnü Pullukçu, Meli̇ha Çağla Sönmezer, Dilara İnan, Funda Şimşek, Sıla Akhan, Tuba Damar Çakırca³², Nursel Çalık Başaran, Aslıhan Candevir, Yeliz Çiçek, Damla Ertürk, Ahmet Çağkan İnkaya, İsmail Yıldız, Behice Kurtaran, Müge Toygar Deniz, Yaşar Bayındır, Mustafa Kemal Çelen

Institutions: Kocaeli Üniversitesi, Istanbul Medipol University, Hacettepe University, Sağlık Bilimleri Üniversitesi, Gaziantep University, Ege University, Institute for Medical Informatics and Biostatistics, Cukurova University, Dicle University, Akdeniz University, Harran University, Acıbadem Adana Hospital, Güven Hospital