Study examines outcomes of gastric bypass surgery in morbidly obese and superobese patients

April 20, 2009

Superobese gastric bypass patients appear to have improvements in quality of life and obesity-related co-existing conditions, and despite losing weight remain obese after surgery, according to a report in the April issue of Archives of Surgery, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

"The prevalence of overweight and obesity has increased markedly world-wide in past years. Obesity related comorbidities [co-existing diseases or conditions] are responsible for a shortened life expectancy and a reduced quality of life," the authors write as background information in the article. Though moderate has been shown to improve comorbidities in overweight or moderately obese patients, in morbidly obese patients "only bariatric surgery can provide substantial and maintained weight loss, which in turn results in improvement of obesity-related comorbidities and quality of life."

Michel Suter, M.D., P.D., of Hôpital du Chablais, Aigle-Monthey, Lausanne, Switzerland, and colleagues compared weight loss, body mass index (BMI), comorbidities and quality of life in 492 morbidly obese (having a BMI of 40 to 49) patients and 133 superobese (having a BMI of 50 or higher) patients treated with primary laparoscopic gastric bypass (average age 39.8 and 40.4, respectively) between 1999 and 2006.

Morbidly obese patients lost up to 15 BMI units (34.7 percent body weight) after 18 months and maintained an average loss of 13 BMI (30.1 percent body weight) units six years after surgery. Superobese patients lost a maximum of 21 BMI units (37.3 percent body weight) after two and a half years and an average of 17 BMI units (30.7 percent ) after six years. Although superobese patients had a greater weight loss than morbidly obese patients, less than 50 percent of them had a BMI of less than 35 six years after surgery compared with more than 90 percent of morbidly .

"Despite these differences, improvements in quality of life and comorbidities were impressive and similar in both groups," the authors note.

"Weight loss or residual BMI is not all that matters, and all aspects of the results of bariatric surgery must be evaluated to draw meaningful conclusions about the effectiveness of a given bariatric operation," the authors conclude. "Only large randomized studies comparing Roux-en-Y with other bariatric procedures and studying all aspects of weight loss , with long-term follow-up, will be able to establish whether one procedure is superior to the others, especially in the superobese patient group."

More information: Arch Surg. 2009;144[4]:312-318

Source: JAMA and Archives Journals (news : web)


Rank not rated yet
Relevant PhysicsForums posts

More news stories

FDA-approved drug rapidly clears amyloid from the brain, reverses Alzheimer's symptoms in mice

Neuroscientists at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine have made a dramatic breakthrough in their efforts to find a cure for Alzheimer's disease. The researchers' findings, published in the journal Science, show t ...

Medicine & Health / Neuroscience

created Feb 09, 2012 | popularity 4.9 / 5 (53) | comments 21 | with audio podcast

Green tea found to reduce disability in the elderly

(Medical Xpress) -- A lot of research has been done over the past several years looking into the health benefits of green tea. As a result, scientists have found that regular consumption of the beverage leads ...

Medicine & Health / Health

created Feb 07, 2012 | popularity 4.4 / 5 (14) | comments 11 | with audio podcast report

Teen school drop-outs three times as likely to be on benefits in later life

Teen school drop-outs are almost three times as likely to be on benefits in later life as their peers who complete their schooling, indicates research published online in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health.

Medicine & Health / Health

created Feb 06, 2012 | popularity not rated yet | comments 12

To perform with less effort, practice beyond perfection

Whether you are an athlete, a musician or a stroke patient learning to walk again, practice can make perfect, but more practice may make you more efficient, according to a surprising new University of Colorado Boulder study.

Medicine & Health / Neuroscience

created Feb 09, 2012 | popularity 4.4 / 5 (15) | comments 6 | with audio podcast

Anyone can learn to be more inventive, cognitive researcher says

There will always be a wild and unpredictable quality to creativity and invention, says Anthony McCaffrey, a cognitive psychology researcher at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, because an "Aha moment" is rare and ...

Medicine & Health / Psychology & Psychiatry

created Feb 09, 2012 | popularity 4.6 / 5 (11) | comments 5 | with audio podcast


Google might launch Drive for cloud storage soon

(PhysOrg.com) -- Google's next big move, according to the Wall Street Journal, is a cloud storage service called Drive. Hardly first to the plate, Google is simply catching up to introducing its cloud reposi ...

Latin America mining boom clashes with conservation

Latin America is experiencing a mining boom as prices rise fuelled by a hike in global demand, but the region is also being hit by a wave of violent protests, strikes and rallies by environmentalists.

Love a click away in Indonesia's Twitter Republic

He was a geeky kid from Yogyakarta, she a glamorous city girl in Jakarta. In a country with one of the world's most vibrant social networking scenes they fell in love on Twitter.

Europeans protest controversial Internet pact

Tens of thousands of people marched in protests in more than a dozen European cities Saturday against a controversial anti-online piracy pact that critics say could curtail Internet freedom.

Walney offshore wind farm is world's biggest (for now)

(PhysOrg.com) -- The Walney wind farm on the Irish Sea--characterized by high tides, waves and windy weather--officially opened this week. The farm is treated in the press as a very big deal as the Walney ...

Navy to begin tests on electromagnetic railgun prototype launcher

The Office of Naval Research (ONR)'s Electromagnetic (EM) Railgun program will take an important step forward in the coming weeks when the first industry railgun prototype launcher is tested at a facility ...