Study indicates increased risk of alcohol use disorders after bariatric surgery

Bremen – A recent study by DAK Gesundheit in cooperation with the Leibniz Institute for Prevention Research and Epidemiology – BIPS and the Obesity Center at the Dresden-Neustadt Municipal Hospital shows that a substantial proportion of people develop alcohol use disorders after bariatric surgery. This is particularly true for men and for people who had their surgery some time ago.

Not only during the operation, but also in the years that follow, those who have had bariatric surgery need good care.

The results show that long-term follow-up care is necessary to protect the health of those who have undergone surgery in the long term. The study was published in the International Journal of Obesity Research & Clinical Practice.

A total of 2151 people were examined in the study. Most of these people were women (80.7 percent), and on average, the bariatric surgery had taken place 6 years previously (between 4 and 9 years). The most common procedures were either a gastric bypass (50 percent) or a sleeve gastrectomy (43 percent).

A supplementary survey on alcohol consumption was answered by 1496 people. The result was worrying: 9.4 percent of those who had undergone surgery showed at least risky or even harmful drinking behavior. According to the study, increased alcohol consumption was associated with gender, longer time since surgery, and dissatisfaction with weight loss.

The role of the health system

“Our results suggest that alcohol use disorders are relatively common after bariatric surgery. However, the dangers of alcohol are particularly high in this group of people,” says first author Dr. Oliver Riedel from BIPS, classifying the results. “Particularly affected could be people whose surgery was a long time ago. It therefore seems important to provide patients with close long-term care and to point out the negative consequences of alcohol consumption after bariatric surgery.” However, Riedel also urges caution in the interpretation of these findings, since the methodology of the study was not specifically designed to examine alcohol use disorders due to a different main research question.

One striking finding of the study was that many people with alcohol use disorders did not receive psychotherapeutic support. According to the research team, this indicates a possible lack of care that should be addressed urgently.

Further research needed

“This study clearly shows that medical follow-up care for people after bariatric surgery needs to be further improved. Future studies should investigate how to better support those affected in order to reduce risks such as alcohol use disorders,” says Riedel.

Funding note

The study was funded by the Innovation Fund of the Federal Joint Committee (G-BA).

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