Introduction:
Obesity is an increasingly prevalent global health issue and has a considerable disease burden, including numerous co-morbidities. Atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) is one such co-morbidity associated with a high mortality rate and prevalence, especially in patients with obesity and concomitant Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Bariatric surgery is an effective intervention for patients with obesity, shown to reduce overall cardiovascular disease risk. However, few studies have quantified the long-term impact of bariatric surgery on ASCVD outcomes in the context of key co-morbidities such as T2DM.
Hypothesis:
Bariatric surgery will improve long-term ASCVD outcomes in obese patients with T2DM.
Methods:
A nested, nationwide, propensity-matched cohort study was carried out using the Clinical Practice Research Datalink. The study cohort included 593 patients who underwent bariatric surgery and had no past history of ASCVD. A further 593 patients served as propensity-score matched controls. Patients were followed up for a median time of 47.2 months. The primary composite study endpoint was the incidence of ASCVD defined by a diagnosis of new coronary artery disease (CAD), cerebrovascular disease (CeVD), peripheral arterial disease (PAD), or other miscellaneous atherosclerotic disease. Secondary endpoints included all-cause mortality and the incidence of CAD, CeVD, and PAD individually.
Results:
Patients who underwent bariatric surgery had significantly lower rates of new ASCVD during follow-up (HR 0.53, CI 0.30-0.95, p=0.032). No significant difference was observed in rates of new CAD (HR 0.69, CI 0.32-1.46, p=0.331), CeVD (HR 0.23, CI 0.00-5.45, p=0.1760) and PAD (HR 0.55, CI 0.21-1.43, p=0.218). The bariatric surgery group also had a lower rate of all-cause mortality (HR 0.36, CI 0.19-0.71, p=0.003) compared to controls.
Conclusions:
In this study, bariatric surgery was associated with improved ASCVD outcomes, as well as lower all-cause mortality, in patients with obesity and T2DM. These findings support the use of bariatric surgery in treating obesity and reducing the burden of its related comorbidities.
Risk of suicide and non-fatal self-harm after bariatric surgery: results from two matched cohort studies
