Number of BMS for adolescents increases by 15%
- owenhaskins
- 25 minutes ago
- 3 min read
The number of bariatric surgeries for adolescents increased by 15% in the US between 2021 and 2023, according to a study led by UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers. Their findings, show how severe obesity is being treated in teenagers, the fastest-growing age group with this condition.
"The number of US adolescents having access to this treatment that we know is safe and effective is the highest it's ever been, and hopefully it's the start of a positive weight loss journey that will get them to better health," said Dr Sarah Messiah, Professor of Epidemiology and Associate Dean for Research in the Peter O'Donnell Jr School of Public Health. She's also a Professor of Pediatrics and Director of the Child and Adolescent Population Health Program at UT Southwestern. Messiah co-led the study with Dr Sarah Barlow, Professor of Pediatrics at UTSW.
To better understand BMS utilisation particularly with the advent of newer weight-loss medications, Messiah, Barlow, and their colleagues examined data from the Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Accreditation and Quality Improvement Program.
The researchers gathered data on how many adolescents (ages 13-19) and adults received BMS between 2021 and 2023, the years before, during, and after GLP-1RAs became FDA-approved for adolescents. They also collected demographic information on these patients.
Their findings showed BMS increased among adolescents over this time span, from 1,376 patients in 2021 to 1,581 in 2023. The mean age decreased slightly during this time, from 17.91 to 17.79. Gastric sleeve operations dominated these procedures, representing more than 86% of all the surgeries performed.
Although BMS rose among adults between the first two years, from 209,829 procedures in 2021 to 229,159, they dropped to 216,323 in 2023 (Figure 1). The researchers hypothesised that this decrease was due to more adult patients opting to take GLP-1RAs instead of having surgery.
This study is the first to show that much of the rise in adolescent MBS was due to an increase in this procedure among Hispanic and non-Hispanic Blacks, ethnic and racial groups disproportionately affected by severe obesity, compared to their non-Hispanic white counterparts.
Less encouraging was the finding that about one-third of adolescents undergoing BMS had a body mass index (BMI) over 50, she added. Intervening with BMS earlier could have helped these patients lower their BMI at younger ages, reducing their risk of associated health problems over time.
"Severe obesity is very common, much more common than it should be, and it is unlikely to respond to lifestyle interventions alone. I think the relative number of bariatric surgeries is still pretty low, given the potential benefit and need among kids," Barlow said.
Looking to the future, treatment for severe obesity is likely to involve BMS and weight-loss medications as well as lifestyle support to achieve long-term health, researchers noted.
The findings were reported in the paper, ‘Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Utilization in the Era of Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 Receptor Agonists among Adolescents versus Adults’, published in The Journal of Pediatrics.
To access this paper, please click here