medwireNews: People who undergo bariatric surgery are just as likely to achieve diabetes remission and reduce their risk for microvascular complications regardless of when they first became obese, suggest findings from the Swedish Obese Subjects study.
The study participants were aged around 45 to 50 years, on average, at the time of surgery, although people with self-reported obesity at age 20 years were a little younger at the time of bariatric surgery than those with normal or overweight BMI at age 20 years, and had a slightly higher presurgical BMI.
But they were as likely to achieve type 2 diabetes remission at 10 years after surgery, with the odds being increased approximately fivefold in all groups relative to matched controls in the same weight categories.
Likewise, the risk for microvascular complications was approximately halved in the surgical group, irrespective of BMI at age 20 years, report Johanna Andersson-Assarsson (University of Gothenburg, Sweden) and team in Diabetes Care.
“Thus, the longer exposure to obesity and the presumed greater genetic influence or early established unhealthy lifestyle in those with early-onset obesity does not appear to reduce the positive effects of bariatric surgery in adults,” conclude the researchers.
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