Teen Weight Loss Surgery Shows Dramatic Reversal of Type 2 Diabetes
Teens who underwent gastric bypass surgery showed dramatic, often immediate, remission of type 2 diabetes, according to a new multicenter study lead by researchers at Cincinnati Children’s.
A study published in the January issue of Pediatrics found that bariatric surgery, specifically Roux-en-Y gastric bypass, helped teens lose, on average, a third of their body weight and induced remission of the diabetes in all but one teen. The study also notes other health improvements, such as lower blood pressure and cholesterol levels.
Type 2 diabetes mellitus is a significant health problem that has traditionally been considered an adult disease. But half of all new pediatric diabetes diagnoses are type 2. It is widely believed this phenomenon is related to obesity and an underlying predisposition for the disease.
Previous studies have shown frequent remission of type 2 diabetes in adults following bariatric surgery, but until now, little information was available for families considering surgical weight loss for adolescents.
The study found that in most cases, patients can come off diabetes medications by the time they leave the hospital following surgery, says Thomas Inge, MD, PhD, surgical director of the Cincinnati Children’s Surgical Weight Loss Program for Teens and lead author of the study.
“The results have been quite dramatic and, to our knowledge, there are no other anti-diabetic therapies that result in more effective and long-term control than that seen with bariatric surgery,” says Dr. Inge.
