Racial disparities in bariatric surgery postoperative weight loss and patient satisfaction

A growing body of evidence has demonstrated racial disparities in bariatric surgery (BS) outcomes. We aimed to investigate the impact of race on postoperative percent excess weight loss (%EWL) and patient satisfaction.

Single center retrospective study of patients who underwent BS January 2012 to November 2017. Statistical analysis utilized Chi-squared, ANOVA and multivariable regression.

A total of 378 patients were included. African American patients lost significantly less weight compared to Caucasian and Hispanic patients (39.0 %EWL, 53.4 %EWL and 52.3 %EWL, respectively). A significant difference remained after adjustment for possible confounders. No difference in postoperative satisfaction was found.

Our study adds to the existing literature demonstrating racial disparities in BS postoperative EWL, despite adjusting for possible confounders, while contributing to the limited literature examining Hispanic patients. Furthermore, we examined an understudied outcome in postoperative patient satisfaction and found no racial disparity despite disparity in EWL.