The development of osteoporosis after bariatric surgery: a review
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Abstract
BACKGROUND: Bariatric surgery is an effective weight loss treatment modality for people with morbid obesity, however, there may be a negative impact on postoperative bone health. This review summarizes changes of different bone mineral density dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry measurements, with specific attention to the laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy and the roux-en-y gastric bypass.
METHODS: PubMed and the Cochrane Library searches yielded 156 articles published before November 2017. The articles were evaluated based on the following inclusion criteria: focus on laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy or roux-en-y gastric bypass and bone health, written in English, full-length article, studied participants for one-to-two years, and included statistical measurements.
RESULTS: Of the 156 studies that were initially screened, 16 full-length articles were included in the final analysis. The articles described a lower loss of bone density at the lumbar spine, femoral neck, forearm, and total hip after laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy when compared to roux-en-y gastric bypass, however, these studies lack statistical power due to the small sample sizes of less than 10 participants.
CONCLUSION: The number of bariatric surgeries continues to increase worldwide, however, the literature provides limited studies that evaluate the effects of bariatric surgery on bone health, more than two-years postoperative. Further study is necessary to determine the mechanisms of bone loss after bariatric surgery, with great attention to differences in bone health between sexes.