In a study from the University of Pittsburgh, scientists found improvements in pain, physical function and work productivity largely endure for at least seven years after bariatric surgery.
The findings—which show that improvements persist even with participants aging over the course of the study—can help inform physicians, health insurance providers and patients, many of whom undergo surgery to alleviate joint pain and improve mobility.
For seven years, the team followed 1,491 adults who, between 2006 and 2009, received either Roux-en-Y gastric bypass or sleeve gastrectomy, the two most common and effective surgical treatments for severe obesity.
At the time of surgery, the study participants were a median age of 47 years, and 80% were female.
The new research builds on a previous study finding that, in the three years following bariatric surgery, 50% to 70% of study participants reported clinically important improvements in pain levels, physical function and usual walking speed.
In their new analysis, the researchers found that at seven years post-surgery, 43% of participants had important improvements in pain, 64% in physical function and 50% in 400-meter walk time, all down between 7 to 11 percentage points from the three-year assessment.
Among participants with symptoms indicative of osteoarthrosis before receiving bariatric surgery, at seven years post-surgery, 65% reported improvements in hip pain, while 72% reported improvements in knee function, both down from 77% at three years post-surgery.
The small to moderate declines in pain and physical function improvements are not surprising, considering the participants also aged over the course of the study to a median of 54 years, King said.
Previous research shows that some aspects of physical function, such as balance and strength, start to decline when people enter their 50s, and others, such as walking speed and aerobic endurance, typically decline in the sixth decade of life.
In addition, participants reported that pain and health status interfered less with their ability to work post-surgery, with 43% of participants reporting impaired work due to health seven years post-surgery, down from 63% pre-surgery.
Combined, the study provides great news about the lasting effects of bariatric surgery.
The team says clinicians should look at patients as individuals and consider their complete health history, goals, and motivations for weight loss when providing presurgical counseling on potential results.
If you care about weight loss, please read studies about 10 small changes you can make to prevent weight gain, and this green diet could boost weight loss and protect heart.
For more information about weight loss, please see recent studies that vegan diet rich in legume could improve metabolic health, and results showing a keto-diet for weight loss can cause flu-like symptoms.
The study was conducted by Wendy C. King et al and published in JAMA Network Open.
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