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The impact of COVID-19 on medium term weight loss and comorbidities in patients undergoing bariatric surgery and its association with psychological wellbeing
Journal article   Open access   Peer reviewed

The impact of COVID-19 on medium term weight loss and comorbidities in patients undergoing bariatric surgery and its association with psychological wellbeing

Oscar Talledo, Rory Carroll, Erin Worden, Anna Marie Greenwood, Hart Alexander, Bergljot Karlsdottir, Ryan Lehmann, Rebecca Peoples, Jessica Smith, Dakota Thompson, …
Surgical endoscopy, Vol.37, pp.1537-1542
02/2023
DOI: 10.1007/s00464-022-09377-6
PMCID: PMC9215154
PMID: 35731301
url
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00464-022-09377-6View
Published (Version of record) Open Access

Abstract

BACKGROUNDThe COVID-19 epidemic imposed significant stressors on individuals and changed how medical care is delivered. The affect that this stress has placed on the field of bariatric surgery and the associated outcomes is not well established. METHODSA retrospective review of a prospectively collected database from a single academic institution was conducted. Weight loss and comorbidity outcomes were compared between a cohort of patients operated on during the pandemic and a matched group operated on prior to COVID-19. GAD-7 and PHQ-9 questionnaires were used to assess for anxiety and depression, respectively. RESULTSA total of 329 and 155 patients were enrolled in the pre-pandemic and COVID-19 groups respectively. There were no significant differences in pre-operative BMI (p = 0.437) or comorbidities: Type II DM (p = 0.810), hypertension (p = 0.879), sleep apnea (p = 0.502), and hyperlipidemia (p = 0.227). Post-operatively, weight loss was comparable at all time points out to 1 year. Type II DM resolution rates were higher in the control cohort at 6 months (p = 0.007), but not at 12 months (p = 1.000). There was no statistically significant difference in resolution rates between the control group and the COVID-19 group for the other measured comorbidities. There was no difference in objective measures of anxiety and depression when comparing the two groups (both p > 0.05). CONCLUSIONSThe COVID-19 pandemic has fundamentally changed how society and medical systems function. Focusing on pre-operative dietary training and screening for inadequately managed psychological comorbidities yielded similar weight loss outcomes notwithstanding the significant societal and individual stressors with which patients were faced.

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