Long term effects of weight loss surgery evaluated
News release from NETSCC, HTA
16 November 2011
Pioneering research commissioned by the NIHR HTA programme is evaluating the long term effectiveness of weight loss surgery on health.
Obesity is becoming a growing problem in the UK, with around 25 per cent of the adult population being obese. The Foresight report, Tackling Obesities: Future Choices project, published in October 2007, predicted that if no action was taken, 60 per cent of men and 50 per cent of women would be obese by 2050. As obese people are more likely to develop conditions such as diabetes and heart disease, the need for NHS resources is increased. Obesity and its effects cause 500 patients to seek bariatric surgery in Scotland each year.
Bariatric surgery is a set of procedures involving stomach surgery, designed to help obese patients lose weight by either restricting the physical size of their stomach or allowing less food to be absorbed. The surgery can take the form of gastric banding, gastric bypass surgery or sleeve gastrectomy. Previous research has found this form of surgery to be cost-effective, and successful at improving associated health problems.
Research, led by Dr Jennifer Logue of the University of Glasgow, hopes to discover how effective weight loss surgery is and identify the risks and benefits associated with this form of surgery. The team plan to recruit every patient undergoing weight loss operations in Scotland over a five year period. They will build an innovative IT-based clinical information system to help them keep track of the 2,000 patients who have had surgery and agreed to participate in the study. Baseline data will be given by surgeons from both the NHS and the private sector and the outcomes will be followed for ten years.
Dr Logue commented; “This will be one of the largest and most in depth studies of the effects of bariatric surgery and we’re confident our results will have relevance to healthcare professionals across the world.”
The study will track patients’ experience of complications after surgery and the incidence of obesity-related physical illness such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease, as well as monitoring the rate of potential complications including nutritional deficiencies and fractures.
“The long term effects of weight loss surgery are not well documented,” says Dr Logue. “We expect our research to make a huge impact on the current understanding of this surgery and our recommendations could inform future clinical practice.”
Please click here to view the project details
Notes for editors
1. The National Institute for Health Research Health Technology Assessment (NIHR HTA) Programme funds research about the effectiveness, costs, and broader impact of health technologies for those who use, manage and provide care in the NHS. It is the largest NIHR programme and publishes the results of its research in the Health Technology Assessment journal, with over 600 issues published to date. The journal’s 2011 Impact Factor (4.255) ranked it in the top 10% of medical and health-related journals. All issues are available for download, free of charge, from the website. The HTA Programme is funded by the NIHR, with contributions from the CSO in Scotland, NISCHR in Wales, and the HSC R&D Division, Public Health Agency in Northern Ireland. www.hta.ac.uk.
2. The National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) is funded by the Department of Health to improve the health and wealth of the nation through research. Since its establishment in April 2006, the NIHR has transformed research in the NHS. It has increased the volume of applied health research for the benefit of patients and the public, driven faster translation of basic science discoveries into tangible benefits for patients and the economy, and developed and supported the people who conduct and contribute to applied health research. The NIHR plays a key role in the Government’s strategy for economic growth, attracting investment by the life-sciences industries through its world-class infrastructure for health research. Together, the NIHR people, programmes, centres of excellence and systems represent the most integrated health research system in the world. For further information, visit the NIHR website (www.nihr.ac.uk).
Contact details
Paul Davey, Programme Manager (Communications)
Telephone: 02380 595 4309, Email: P.A.Davey@southampton.ac.uk
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