Bariatric Surgery for Severe Obesity Markedly Improves Cardiometabolic Health

WEDNESDAY, March 20, 2024 (HealthDay News) -- Metabolic surgery for the treatment of severe obesity leads to considerable cardiometabolic improvements, according to a study published online March 14 in the Journal of the Endocrine Society.

Lei Wang, from the Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee, and colleagues examined cardiometabolic improvements after metabolic surgery in a large multiracial cohort, with 7,804 patients (aged 20 to 79 years; median body mass index, 46.4 kg/m²) undergoing first-time metabolic surgery from 1999 to 2022.

Most of the patients were women (1,618 men) and White (1,271 Black). The researchers found that patients had significant decreases in systolic blood pressure (10.5 mm Hg), total cholesterol (13.5 mg/dL), glucose (13.6 mg/dL), hemoglobin A1c (1.13 percent), and 10-year atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) risk (absolute reduction, 1.58 percent; relative reduction, 34.4 percent) at one year after surgery. Less reduction in the 10-year ASCVD risk and lower odds of diabetes/hypertension/dyslipidemia remission were seen for older, male, or Black patients versus younger, female, or White patients. Fewer cardiometabolic improvements were seen for patients with a history of diabetes, hypertension, dyslipidemia, or cardiovascular disease than those without. Similar results were seen with or without further adjustment for weight loss, and they were mostly sustained two years postoperatively.

"Our study highlights how bariatric surgery not only leads to significant weight loss but also substantially improves heart health," Wang said in a statement.

Abstract/Full Text