Similar Results in Older, Younger
Patients Undergoing Weight-Loss Surgery
February 17, 2005
Elderly patients can safely undergo gastric bypass
surgery and can be expected to experience similar benefits
from the operation as younger patients, according to
an article in the February issue of Archives of Surgery,
one of the JAMA/Archives journals.
According to background information in the article,
the percentage of the U.S. population with a body mass
index (BMI; calculated as weight in kilograms divided
by height in meters squared) of 30 kg/m2 or greater,
increased from an estimated 12 percent in 1991 to approximately
20 percent a decade later. Although some bariatric centers
believe the risks of gastric bypass surgery outweigh
the benefits in elderly patients, with the increase
of life expectancy and the quality of life in older
adults, the authors suggest the benefits of such surgery
may need to be reconsidered.
Shawn D. St. Peter, M.D., and colleagues from the Mayo
Clinic Scottsdale, Scottsdale, Ariz., compared the results
of laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery in
110 patients younger than sixty years with 20 patients
60 years or older. The researchers examined patients’
conditions and medications related to obesity both before
and after the operation. In the younger group, the average
age was 45 years, while in the older group, the average
age was 62.5 years. At the time of operation, the average
BMI was 46.4 kg/m2 in the older group and 48.2 kg/m2
in the younger group.
The researchers found that during an average follow-up
time of approximately 10 months, weight loss was greater
in younger patients (average = 96.96 lbs.), although
the difference was not significant (older patients lost
an average of 86.35 lbs.). Both the younger and older
groups experienced a significant decrease in obesity-related
diseases, including high blood pressure and diabetes.
Before the operation, older patients had an average
of 4.6 such diseases, while younger patients had 3.7,
compared to post-operative follow-up, with older and
younger patients having 2.9 and 1.4 of these related
conditions, respectively. Both groups also had significant
reductions in medication after surgery, with the older
group decreasing from an average of 4.85 to 2.7 medications;
and the younger group decreasing from 2.7 to 1.1 medications.
“Patients of advanced age can safely undergo…gastric
bypass with operative results nearly identical to those
of younger patients,” the authors write. “Younger
patients can be expected to demonstrate greater weight
loss. Similarly, younger patients can be expected to
experience more resolution of their comorbid [related]
conditions. However, the older patients still demonstrate
considerable improvement of their comorbidities, as
evidenced by the greater overall reduction in medications
seen at follow-up.”
Source:www.newswise.com
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