Weight-loss surgery, diabetes, and long-term health

This review looked at whether bariatric (weight-loss) surgery (BS) improves life expectancy for adults with or without type 2 diabetes (T2D). It found that BS improved life expectancy for people with diabetes by 9.3 years.

Diabetes, or high blood glucose (sugar), is a chronic condition that affects overall health. Long term, T2D increases the risks of heart disease, kidney disease, liver disease, and other health conditions. T2D is related to obesity, and weight loss can improve the condition. However, substantial weight loss is difficult to achieve and maintain.

BS refers to surgical techniques to reduce the stomach and/or upper small intestines. BS restricts the amount you can eat, reduces hunger, and retrains eating habits. It can lead to long-term sustained weight loss and improvement or even remission of T2D. Research is ongoing into how BS affects life expectancy for people with T2D and obesity.

This review used 17 studies of 174,772 patients with or without diabetes who were undergoing BS. Patients were followed for an average of 69.4 months (5.8 years).

Overall, the risk of death was reduced by 49.1% by BS. Patients who had BS had significantly improved the chance of living at least ten more years. They had an increased life expectancy by 6.1 years compared to those who did not have BS.

For patients with diabetes, BS reduced the risk of death by 59.1%. Life expectancy increased by 9.3 years compared to patients who did not have BS. For every eight people with diabetes who have BS, one death would be prevented within 10 years.

This review found that bariatric surgery increases life expectancy for people with diabetes and obesity.

There are multiple types of bariatric surgery. Gastric bypass, banding, and sleeve gastrectomy led to similar improvements in survival.