A study analyzing outcomes after bariatric surgery by primary language

Communication is key to success in bariatric surgery. This study aims to understand how outcomes after bariatric surgery differ between patients with a non-English primary language and those with English as their primary language.

This retrospective, observational cohort study of bariatric surgery patients age ≥ 18 years utilized the Michigan, Maryland, and New Jersey State Inpatient Databases and State Ambulatory Surgery and Services Databases, 2016 to 2018. Patients were classified by primary spoken language: English and non-English. Primary outcome was complications. Secondary outcomes included length of stay (LOS) and cost, with cost calculated using cost-to-charge ratios provided by Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project and reported in 2019 United States dollars. Multivariable regression models (logistic, Poisson, and quantile) were used to examine associations between primary language and outcomes. Given the uneven distribution of race by primary language, interaction terms were used to examine conditional effects of race.

Among 69,749 bariatric surgery patients, 2811 (4.2%) spoke a non-English primary language. Covariates, notably race distribution, and unadjusted outcomes differed significantly by primary language. However, after adjustment, non-English primary language was not associated with significantly increased odds of complications (odds ratio 1.24, p = 0.389), significantly different LOS (- 0.02 days, p = 0.677), nor significantly different mean healthcare costs (- $265, p = 0.309). There were no significant conditional effects of race seen among outcomes.

Though non-English primary language was associated with a significantly different distribution of observable characteristics (including race, income quartile, and insurance type), after adjustment, non-English primary language was not associated with significant differential risk of adverse outcomes after bariatric surgery, and there were no significant conditional effects of race. As such, this study suggests that disparities in bariatric surgery by primary spoken language more likely related to access to care, or the pre- and post-hospital care continuum, rather than index hospitalization after surgery.