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Bariatric Surgery Tied to Higher Short-Term Risk for Venous Thromboembolism

Medically reviewed by Carmen Pope, BPharm. Last updated on May 9, 2024.

By Lori Solomon HealthDay Reporter

THURSDAY, May 9, 2024 -- In the short term, bariatric surgery is associated with a greater risk for venous thromboembolism (VTE), but in the long-term, it is associated with lower risk, according to a study published online April 30 in Obesity Surgery.

Laura B. Harrington, Ph.D., M.P.H., from Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute in Seattle, and colleagues evaluated the association between bariatric surgery and long-term VTE risk. The analysis included 30,171 adults with body mass index ≥35 kg/m2 who underwent bariatric surgery (January 2005 to September 2015) and 218,961 matched nonsurgical patients.

The researchers found that at 30 days post-index date, bariatric surgery was associated with a greater VTE risk (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR], 5.01) and greater pulmonary embolism (PE) risk (aHR, 3.93) compared with no bariatric surgery. However, at one year post-index date, bariatric surgery was associated with a lower VTE and PE risk (aHR, 0.52 and 0.30, respectively). Similarly, at five years post-index date, lower VTE and PE risks persisted (aHR, 0.59 and 0.45, respectively).

"As patients and their clinicians weigh the risks and benefits of bariatric surgery, our finding provides additional evidence to consider not only the procedure's risks in the short-term, but to balance these with potentially strong long-term benefits," the authors write.

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Disclaimer: Statistical data in medical articles provide general trends and do not pertain to individuals. Individual factors can vary greatly. Always seek personalized medical advice for individual healthcare decisions.

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Posted May 2024

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