The Benefits of Weight Loss Surgery on Type 2 Diabetes
The beneficial side effect of having a weight loss surgery is that it addresses one of the most common diseases associated with obesity. Obesity-induced type 2 diabetes mellitus has been proven to be resolved, if not completely eliminated by bariatric surgery. One of the latest studies published in The American Journal of Medicine in March, 2009 showed that there was an 86.6% improvement of diabetes and 78.1% complete remission of diabetes from patients who have undergone weight loss surgery.
Another study done in John Hopkins University showed that out of 2,200 U.S. adults who have had bariatric surgery, 85% have demonstrated improved blood glucose levels. The benefits of having weight loss surgery even accounts for 3 out 4 patients to stop taking their diabetes medications and even insulin within as short as 6 months after the surgery, according to MSN HealtDay News (August, 16, 2010). These benefits of weight loss surgery outweigh the cost of the procedure, making it a cost-effective method to cure type 2 diabetes associated with obesity.
More Data and Results:
A progressive relationship between diabetes remission and bariatric surgery has been observed by researchers recently. Among the most popular weight loss surgeries included in this causal effect are: biliopancreatic diversion/duodenal switch (BPD/DS), laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding, gastric bypass, and gastroplasty. The following data shows the rate of diabetes resolution with the aforementioned weight loss surgeries (ScienceDaily, March 11, 2009):
- BPD/DS: 95.1%
- Gastric banding: 56.7%
- Gastric bypass: 80.3%
- Gastroplasty: 79.7%
The following results show the percent excess weight loss after more than 2 years post-operative:
- BPD/DS: 63.6%
- Gastric Banding: 46.2%
- Gastric bypass: 59.7%
- Gastroplasty: 55.5%
A ten-year follow up study of gastric bypass (GBB) operation on 479 morbidly obese patients was published in The American Journal of Medicine (Pories, et al: 1992). The study included a 10-year follow-up period since 1980 of patients who underwent GBB with a well-maintained weigh loss series. The results yielded that GBB can control non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) in most patients, with remission of 21% NIDDM patients in the group (101 NIDDM patients) and 13% glucose impaired patients in the group (62 glucose impaired patients). Collectively, the study showed that “along with its control of weight, the operation also controls the hyperglycemia, hyperinsulinemia, and insulin resistance of the majority of patients with either glucose impairment or frank NIDDM.”
Theories on How Bariatric Surgery Works on Diabetes:
Recent studies are currently being carried out to investigate on how bariatric surgery scientifically cures type 2 diabetes. One potential explanation is because insulin responds to fat metabolism. Since weight loss surgery aims to cut down fat deposition in the body, fat metabolism is increased and insulin reacts positively on this.
Some other theories exist to describe the stimulating action of shunting the food directly to the lower intestine. This action causes the release of a substance known as glucagon-like peptide 1 which eventually increases the release of insulin. Another promising theory suggests that by rearranging the anatomy of the digestive tract, hormones that cause hunger are suppressed. In this case, patients crave less sugar and eventually control their blood sugar levels. Though still without definitive conclusion, bariatric surgery has been proven by a lot of scientific studies to provide total cure for obesity-induced type 2 diabetes.
The Cost-Effectiveness of Bariatric Surgery:
The advent of insulin in 1922, promised the remission, if not the total cure for type 1 diabetes. Together with the continuous development of new generation oral anti-diabetics, insulin has been part of type 2 diabetes treatment in most severe cases. Bariatric surgery cuts off the use of medications and insulin injections for obesity-induced type 2 diabetes by total remission after the operation. The cost-effectiveness of choosing weight loss surgery lies on the fact that total cure is provided after the procedure compared with control of blood sugar levels by anti-diabetic medications and insulin injections.
Non-surgical treatments for diabetes can mostly be ineffective and cumulatively expensive over time. Poor compliance often raises another issue that needs to be considered individually among patients. Maintenance medications as well as regular injections of insulin could become a nuisance for most obese diabetic patients. In the long run, they develop a hard time complying with the therapy and lose the treatment totally.
What makes bariatric surgery different from medical therapy for type 2 diabetes is that patients only need to dedicate themselves and adhere with their desired body weight after the surgery. Thus, like hitting 2 birds with one stone, weight loss surgery helps patients maintain a healthy weight and also cures the underlying type 2 diabetes in one procedure.
