Nutritional Deficiencies Common Among Some Bariatric Surgery Patients

Nutritional deficiencies are common among patients receiving a laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG) 4 years after surgery, according to a recent study.

Little information exists on long-term nutritional deficiencies among patients who have received an LSG.
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In their study, the researchers evaluated the preoperative data of 192 patients, the 1-year postoperative data of 77 patients, and the 4-year postoperative data of 27 patients. Levels of iron, anemia, folate, vitamin B12, vitamin D, and elevated parathyroid hormone (PTH) were assessed pre-surgery and at 1 year and 4 years post-surgery.

Results of the study indicated that patients had had nutritional deficiencies prior to surgery and at 1 year and 4 years post-surgery. Vitamin D levels remained low throughout all 3 time periods. PTH increased from 37.5 pg/mL at 1 year post-surgery to 77.3 pg/mL at 4 years post-surgery. Elevated PTH and anemia levels were more prevalent among women (80%) than men (20%) at 4 years post-surgery.

A total of 92.6% of patients reported taking a multivitamin within the first year following surgery, and 74.1% took vitamin D supplements. However, after 4 years, only 37% of patients still took multivitamins, and 11.1% still took vitamin D supplements.

“A high rate of nutritional deficiencies is common at 4 years post-LSG along with low adherence to the nutritional supplementation regimen,” the researchers concluded. “Long-term nutritional follow-up and supplementation maintenance are crucial for LSG patients. Future studies are needed to clarify the clinical impact of such deficiencies.”

—Christina Vogt

Reference:

Ben-Porat T, Elazary R, Goldenshluger A, Dagan SS, Mintz Y, Weiss R. Nutritional deficiencies four years after laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy—are supplements required for a lifetime? Surg Obes Related Dis. 2017;13(7):1138-1144. doi:10.1016/j.soard.2017.02.021.