Objective  To analyze the current research status, hotspots and development trends of Mendelian randomization applied to metabolic associated fatty liver disease based on bibliometrics, and to provide references for future research.

Methods  Relevant literature was retrieved from CNKI, WanFang Data, VIP, PubMed and Web of Science Core Collection database from the establishment of the databases to March 31, 2025. Visualization maps were constructed using VOSviewer 1.6.20 and CiteSpace 6.3.R1 software to analyze collaboration networks among authors, countries and institutions. Co-citation analysis of literature and co-occurrence, clustering and burst detection analysis of keywords were conducted.

Results  A total of 38 Chinese articles and 259 English articles were included. The annual number of published papers generally showed an upward trend. China (209 articles) and the United States (39 articles) had the highest number of published articles. The First School of Clinical Medicine of Lanzhou University (5 articles) was the institution with the highest number of Chinese literature publications, while Zhejiang University (20 articles) was the institution with the highest number of English literature publications. The results of keyword analysis showed that causal relationship, genome-wide association studies, cardiovascular diseases and metabolic disorders were high-frequency keywords.

Conclusion  The application of Mendelian randomization in metabolic associated fatty liver disease focused on exploring pathogenesis, comorbidity analysis and identification of potential risk factors. The research hotspots are mainly reflected in liver diseases and metabolism, inflammation, cardiovascular diseases, mental health and statistical methods, etc. With the progress of the research, high-frequency keywords such as atrial fibrillation, gut-liver axis, alcohol consumption, metabolism and bias will continue to be the main research hotspots for future studies.

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