Can Gastric Bypass Eliminate Diabetes in Obese Teens?

On numerous occasions in the past, we have written about the relationship between bariatric surgery and diabetes — particularly, how such surgeries can reduce the effects of diabetes.

Now there is new data that supports this finding, particularly in the case of obese teenagers who undergo gastric bypass surgery. Dr. Thomas Inge, from the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, was the head researcher on this study. According to Inge, this was the first study that looked at adolescents with type 2 diabetes. Previous studies have had success with diabetes remission in adults, but until now teens have been left out of such research.

Type 2 diabetes is often associated with obesity, and therein lies the connection between bariatric weight-loss surgery and the elimination of diabetes. According to Inge: “Our study found that, in most cases, teens can lose one-third of their weight and come off diabetes medications with remission of their diabetes one year after bypass surgery.”

The study was conducted in a typical A/B fashion, where one group undergoes a certain type of treatment, and another group experiences a different kind of treatment. In all, the researchers looked at 78 teenagers with type 2 diabetes. Eleven of them had gastric bypass surgery, while the remaining 67 teens got the usual treatment for their diabetes.

The group that underwent gastric bypass surgery lost, on average, 34 percent of their body weight. But what’s more surprising is the fact that their diabetes went into remission as well, while the other teens (who did not have the surgery) had to continue with their diabetes meds.

The full study was published in the January issue of Pediatrics magazine.