Metabolic syndrome: yet another co-morbidity gastric bypass helps cure

The metabolic syndrome is a group of risk factors predictive of cardiovascular diseases. The rising number of obese Americans has increased the prevalence of metabolic syndrome. This study investigated the hypothesis that the incidence of metabolic syndrome is decreased after laparoscopic gastric bypass surgery.

The charts of all patients who had undergone laparoscopic gastric bypass surgery during a 6-month period were reviewed for the presence of the diagnostic criteria for metabolic syndrome, both preoperatively and at least 1 year postoperatively. The National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel III (NCEP ATPIII) criteria were used to define the metabolic syndrome. These criteria included elevated blood pressure, fasting blood glucose, triglycerides, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and waist circumference.

Data were available for 53 patients. Before laparoscopic gastric bypass surgery, 32 (60%) of the 53 patients had metabolic syndrome, as defined by the NCEP ATPIII criteria. No difference was found in the preoperative body mass index between patients who had metabolic syndrome (47.4 kg/m(2)) and those who did not (49.8 kg/m(2); P = NS). The percentage of excess body weight lost after at least 1 year was 78% in patients with metabolic syndrome. After surgery, only 1 (2%) of the 53 patients had metabolic syndrome (P <.0001).

Metabolic syndrome is quite common in patients undergoing bariatric surgery. The results of our study have shown that laparoscopic gastric bypass surgery resolves metabolic syndrome in most patients. Metabolic syndrome should be considered another co-morbidity that improves and is cured after gastric bypass surgery.