Ten years after undergoing bariatric surgery as adolescents, over half of participants in the Teen-Longitudinal Assessment of Bariatric Surgery (Teen-LABS), demonstrated not only sustained weight loss, but also resolution of obesity-related conditions, such as type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol, according to a report published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
"Our study presents impressive outcomes of the longest follow-up of weight loss surgery during adolescence, which validates bariatric surgery as a safe and effective long-term obesity management strategy," said lead author, Dr Justin Ryder, Vice Chair of Research for the Department of Surgery at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago and Associate Professor of Surgery and Pediatrics at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.
Nationally, bariatric surgery is under-utilized, with only one out of every 2,500 teens with severe obesity undergoing the procedure. In the US, almost five million adolescents are eligible for effective weight loss interventions like bariatric surgery, according to current recommendations.
Teen-LABS investigators analysed outcomes of 260 patients at ten years after bariatric surgery as teenagers (13–19 years of age). They found that the body mass index (BMI) declined by 20%. Importantly, the study found that 55% of the participants who had type 2 diabetes as teenagers and underwent surgery were still in remission of their diabetes at ten years.
"This is considerably better than the outcomes reported in people who underwent bariatric surgery as adults, a major reason why treating obesity seriously in adolescents is so important," added Ryder.
Indeed, a recent multi-centre randomised controlled trial found diabetes type 2 remission in adults to be 12–18% at seven to 12 years after bariatric surgery.
"The fascinating part is that when we use these operations in teenagers, the remission of health conditions like diabetes and high blood pressure are more durable than when operations are done later in adulthood," said Dr Thomas Inge, Principal Investigator of the Teen-LABS study and Surgeon-in-Chief at Lurie Children's.
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