Bariatric surgery tied to hypoglycemia risk in people without diabetes: Study

Sweden: Bariatric surgery compared to usual care increases the risk of hypoglycemia-related events in patients without diabetes, finds a recent study in the journal Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism.

Hypoglycemia or sudden episode of low blood sugar is a potentially serious effect of bariatric surgery but there is a lack of long-term outcomes from prospective, controlled trials. Kajsa Sjöholm, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden, and colleagues, therefore, aimed to examine the incidence of hypoglycemia-related events over up to 31 years in patients treated with bariatric surgery in the Swedish Obese Subjects (SOS) study (n=4047) -- a prospective controlled intervention study.

This study included 1989 patients treated with bariatric surgery and 2027 control patients with obesity who received usual care. Using the National Patient Register, the researchers identified diagnosed hypoglycemia and events commonly attributed to hypoglycemia (confusion, syncope, epilepsy, and seizures), requiring hospital or specialist outpatient treatment. 

Analyses were stratified by baseline glycemic status. HRs are adjusted for inclusion year, age, sex, smoking, HbA1c, and BMI at baseline. At the time of analysis (December 31, 2018), the median follow-up was 22 years. 

"Our findings demonstrate that bariatric surgery is associated with an increased incidence of hypoglycemia-related events in patients without baseline diabetes, especially during the first years following treatment," concluded the authors. 

Reference:

The study titled, "Long-term incidence of hypoglycemia-related events after bariatric surgery or usual care in the Swedish Obese Subjects (SOS) Study- A register-based analysis," is published in the journal Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism.

DOI: https://dom-pubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/dom.14420