Bariatric Surgery Provides Significant Long-Term Survival Advantage for Obese Patients

JANUARY 29, 2007 - A review published in SOARD, Surgery for Obesity and Related Diseases, summarizes the results of four studies that compared the mortality death rates of people who underwent bariatric surgery to a controlled community population.
Research was conducted in Sweden, Australia, the United States and Italy. Each study considered between 1,000 and 8,000 morbidly obese patients who sought various forms of bariatric surgery, including laparoscopic gastric banding (LapBand), sleeve gastrectomy, Roux-en-Y gastric bypass and duodenal switch, in an effort to achieve an effective weight loss of more than 25 percent. Data released by the four groups showed that bariatric surgery reduced the mortality rates of patients anywhere from 31.6 percent (Sweden) to 62 percent (Italy).
The United States' collaborative research project conducted in Utah determined that of the 8,172 people who participated in the study, the gastric bypass patient had a 40% reduction in mortality and, more importantly, a significant decrease in death related to coronary artery disease, diabetes and cancer. Australia showed the most promising results to date, with a 73 percent average reduction in mortality rates due to LapBand surgery.
As a result of these initial studies, the International Congress on Obesity will meet again at the end of 2007 to discuss further research opportunities that will aim to make more specific discoveries about bariatric surgery and its ability to reduce the onset of obesity-related mortality.