Bariatric Surgery increases risk of acute Kidney injury: Study
A large population-based cohort study published in BMC Nephrology found that bariatric surgery is a double-edged sword for kidney health. While the procedure increases short-term risks—namely acute kidney injury (AKI) and kidney stones—it significantly lowers long-term chances of chronic kidney disease (CKD) and kidney failure requiring replacement therapy (KFRT).
Researchers in Denmark analyzed outcomes for nearly 19,000 adults who underwent Roux-en-Y gastric bypass or sleeve gastrectomy between 2006 and 2018, comparing them to over 94,000 matched individuals with overweight or obesity who did not undergo surgery. Median follow-up was just over eight years.
Within one year of surgery, 2.7% of bariatric patients experienced AKI—significantly higher than matched controls. Over ten years, 3.5% developed nephrolithiasis compared to lower rates in non-surgical peers BioMed CentralPubMed. Adjusted hazard ratios confirmed elevated risk: AKI (aHR ≈ 1.63) and kidney stones (aHR ≈ 1.73) BioMed CentralPubMed.
The encouraging flip side: ten-year risks of CKD (stage G3–G5) and KFRT were significantly lower in the surgery group. CKD risk dropped to aHR ≈ 0.41, and KFRT to aHR ≈ 0.63, compared to non-surgery controls BioMed CentralPubMed.
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