The study about young people with severe obesity who had bariatric surgery was published online in Obesity in January 2023.
Men and women aged 35 and older with severe obesity who had bariatric surgery had improved survival up to four decades after compared with individuals of the same age, sex, and body mass index (BMI) who did not undergo surgery.
Participants included 21,837 matched surgery (underwent Roux-en-Y gastric bypass, gastric banding, sleeve gastrectomy, or duodenal switch) and non-surgery pairs. Follow-up was up to 40 years (mean [SD], 13.2 [9.5] years). All-cause mortality was 16% lower in surgery compared with non-surgery groups (hazard ratio, 0.84; 95% CI: 0.79-0.90; p< 0.001).
Death from cardiovascular disease, cancer, and diabetes was 29%, 43%, and 72% lower, respectively, in the bariatric surgery patients versus nonsurgery peers, during a mean follow-up of 13 years (all P > 0.001).
However, the youngest group of bariatric surgery patients — who were 18-34 years old — had a fivefold increased risk of suicide during follow-up compared with their peers who did not undergo surgery (p = 0.001).
Patients with severe obesity, especially younger you, "may need more aggressive presurgical psychological screening and post-surgery follow-up," write Adams and colleagues.
