Sept. 23, 2019—People with type 2 diabetes and obesity who have weight-loss surgery have a lower risk of heart attack, stroke and premature death than people treated with standard medical care, suggests a new study.
It looked at the medical records of 2,287 patients who underwent one of four weight-loss surgeries:
- Gastric bypass.
- Sleeve gastrectomy.
- Adjustable gastric banding.
- Duodenal switch.
They were followed for about four years, along with a similar group of 11,435 patients who were treated with lifestyle changes and medication alone.
During that follow-up period, patients in the surgical group were 41% less likely to die from any cause. They were also 40% less likely to experience:
- Coronary artery events (such as unstable angina or heart attack).
- Cerebrovascular events (such as stroke).
- Heart failure.
- Kidney disease.
- Atrial fibrillation (an irregular heartbeat).
Patients in the surgery group also required fewer medicines to treat:
- Diabetes.
- High blood pressure.
- High cholesterol.
- Heart disease.
Patients who had surgery lost 15% more weight than the other group, and that could be part of the reason for their better health afterward. But one of the authors said there is growing evidence that weight-loss surgery also causes metabolic and hormonal changes that may bring their own benefits.
This study was observational, which means it was based on patients' existing medical records. The authors said that randomized clinical trials are the logical next step to verify the results.
The study was published in JAMA.
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