The body of data that support long-term metabolic and cardiovascular benefits of bariatric surgery as obesity therapy is growing, said Dr. Hurley. A large prospective observational study by the American College of Surgeons’ Bariatric Surgery Center Network followed 28,616 patients, finding that Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) was most effective in improving or resolving CVD comorbidities. At 1 year post surgery, 83% of RYGB patients saw improvement or resolution of T2D; the figure was 79% for hypertension and 66% for dyslipidemia (Ann Surg. 2011;254[3]:410-20).
Weight loss for patients receiving bariatric procedures has generally been durable: for laparoscopic RYGB patients tracked to 7 years after surgery, 75% had maintained at least a 20% weight loss (JAMA Surg. 2018;153[5]427-34).
Longer-term clinical follow-up points toward favorable metabolic and cardiovascular outcomes, said Dr. Hurley, citing data from the Swedish Obese Subjects (SOS) trial. This study followed over 4,000 patients with high BMIs (at least 34 kg/m2 for men and 38 kg/m2 for women) over 10 years. At that point, 36% of gastric bypass patients, compared with 13% of non-surgical high BMI patients, saw resolution of T2D, a significant difference. Triglyceride levels also fell significantly more for the bypass recipients. Hypertension was resolved in just 19% of patients at 10 years, a non-significant difference from the 11% of control patients. Data from the same patient set also showed a significant reduction in total cardiovascular events in the surgical versus non-surgical patients (n = 49 vs. 28, hazard ratio 0.83, log-rank P = .05). Fatal cardiovascular events were significantly lower for patients who had received bariatric surgery, with a 24% decline in mortality for bariatric surgery patients at about 11 years post surgery.
Canadian data showed even greater reductions in mortality, with an 89% decrease in mortality after RYGB, compared with non-surgical patients at the 5-year mark (Ann Surg 2004;240:416-24).