An American study highlights a reduction in the mortality rate of patients suffering from obesity thanks to the use of bariatric surgery. Published on January 25 in the journal Obesity, the results of the work carried out by a team from the University of Utah are nevertheless mixed with regard to a higher risk of suicide in these people.
Bariatric surgery aims to reduce the patient’s weight by limiting calorie absorption by modifying the anatomy of the stomach or intestines. However, it can have a noticeable impact on mental health. Researcher Ted Adams and his team find a suicide rate 2.4 times higher in people who have had surgery compared to people with obesity who have not had surgery. One of the reasons why this type of intervention is often performed as a last resort, when non-surgical therapies are not effective.
To reach their conclusions, the American researchers studied the results of bariatric surgery in nearly 22,000 patients, with a follow-up of up to forty years. Each operated person was compared to an individual with similar characteristics, in particular for corpulence, age and sex, but who did not have recourse to surgery. However, there are some questions regarding statistical reliability. In particular the absence of environmental factors among the parameters studied, despite their preponderant role in obesity.
Self-destructive behaviors
As Olivier Ziegler, head of the specialized center for obesity in Nancy, points out, this study draws up a generally positive assessment, which is also shared by other studies on the question. Thus, the all-cause mortality rate decreases by regarding 16% following bariatric surgery. Mortality rates due to specific causes show even more striking reductions, of 29% for cardiovascular complications, 43% for cancers and 73% for diabetes.
On the other hand, we observe an increase in the mortality rate due to chronic liver diseases which is not negligible. According to Olivier Ziegler, this is attributable to the increase in alcohol consumption that can sometimes appear. Suffering from eating disorders before the operation, patients find themselves in a situation of distress because the surgery limits the amount of food they can eat. Some then fall into another addiction such as alcoholism. When patients are unable to compensate for the lack, severe depression can set in, causing some of the suicides observed.
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