Bariatric surgery may increase fracture risk

Sweden: People who undergo weight loss surgery may face an elevated risk of bone fractures, according to a study published in the Journal of Internal Medicine.

Previous studies have reported an increased fracture risk after bariatric surgery. The researchers conducted the study to investigate the association between different bariatric surgery procedures and fracture risk. The current analysis includes 2007 patients treated with bariatric surgery (13.3% gastric bypass, 18.7% gastric banding, and 68.0% vertical banded gastroplasty) and 2040 control patients with obesity matched on group level based on 18 variables. 

 Sofie Ahlin, MD, Ph.D., of the University of Gothenburg, in Sweden, the lead author of the study had told that "Our results show that gastric bypass surgery increases the long-term risk of fracture, both compared with non-surgical obesity care and compared two other bariatric surgery methods used in our study, Increased risk of fracture is a serious side effect that should be taken into account when selecting surgical procedures and it should also be kept in mind during post-operative follow-up in patients who have undergone gastric bypass." reports Wiley.

The study included 2,007 Swedish patients with obesity who were treated with weight loss surgery (either gastric bypass, gastric banding, or vertical banded gastroplasty) and 2,040 matched patients who did not undergo surgery. Over a median follow-up of between 15 and 18 years for the different treatment groups, the highest incidence rate for fractures was seen in the gastric bypass group. Rates were 22.9 per 1,000 person-years in this group, compared with 10.4, 10.7, and 9.3 per 1,000 person-years for the vertical banded gastroplasty, gastric banding, and control groups, respectively which means that 229, 104, 107, and 93 people are experiencing a fracture per 10,000 people over one year.

The fracture risk in the gastric bypass group was 2.58-times higher than in the control group, 1.99-times higher than in the gastric banding group, and 2.15-times higher than in the vertical banded gastroplasty group.

For further reference log on to :

 https://doi.org/10.1111/joim.13020

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