Nearly two-thirds of participants stated that joint pain and overall health had affected their ability to perform their jobs prior to surgery. However, this dropped to 43% seven year later.
King said that he was impressed with the persistence of the initial pre-to-post-surgery improvements to pain, function, and work productivity. He also noted that declines between three years and seven years were very small, especially when you consider that participants are getting older.
The findings support King’s conclusion that the “benefits of modern bariatric surgical procedures, which is Roux-enY gastric bypass or sleeve gastrectomy, far outweighs the risks.”
Lona Sandon is a program director at the School of Health Professions of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas. She reviewed the findings.
She explained that the additional benefits of the study were well-known to doctors who often point them out to patients. This is even though patients may be motivated by weight loss and not pain relief.
Sandon stated that insurance does not approve surgery based upon movement capacity or pain scales because these are not medical diagnoses. However, obesity is.
“Insurance is not good at covering prevention. Accordingly, patients should be able to see any additional benefits of surgery as “bonus,” if they have them.
Sandon stated that it was nice to see long-term studies showing these benefits. “Physically, feeling better can make a big difference in your mood and quality life.
The results were published September 14, 2009. JAMA Network Open .
Additional information
More information about weight-loss surgery can be found at the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery.
SOURCES: Wendy King (PhD), associate professor, epidemiology, University of Pittsburgh School of Public Health. Lona Sanderson (PhD, RDN. LD), program director and associate Professor, Clinical Nutrition, UT Southwestern Medical Center Dallas. JAMA Network Open, Sept. 14, 2022
