Disparities in Long-Term Mortality Following Bariatric Surgery Between Hispanic and Non-Hispanic White Patients

Area of Science:

• Bariatric Surgery Outcomes
• Health Disparities Research
• Long-term Mortality Studies

Background:

• Limited data exists on long-term mortality disparities after bariatric surgery.
• Previous studies focused on short-term mortality, leaving long-term outcomes under-described.
• Understanding ethnic differences in post-bariatric surgery mortality is crucial for equitable care.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare long-term mortality between Hispanic and non-Hispanic White patients post-bariatric surgery.
• To analyze all-cause, external-caused, and non-external caused mortality differences.
• To investigate potential disparities in long-term survival following bariatric procedures.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of 19,943 patients undergoing bariatric surgery between 1979 and 2018.
• Comparison of long-term mortality (1979-2020) between Hispanic and non-Hispanic White patient groups.
• Utilized Cox regression to identify factors associated with long-term mortality.

Main Results:

• Hispanic patients (19% of cohort) exhibited higher all-cause mortality (14.6% vs. 12.9%).
• Increased risks observed for non-external (11.2% vs. 10.4%) and external causes of death (3.1% vs. 2.1%) among Hispanic patients.
• Cox regression revealed a 39% higher risk of all-cause mortality for Hispanic patients (HR 1.39).

Conclusions:

• Significant disparities in long-term mortality exist between Hispanic and non-Hispanic White patients after bariatric surgery.
• The underlying reasons for these observed mortality differences require further investigation.
• Additional research is necessary to elucidate the factors contributing to outcome variations.