Introduction
Bariatric surgery is the intervention of choice for weight loss in morbid obesity. Bariatric surgery results in significant improvement in all components of metabolic syndrome. Elevated serum triglycerides are an independent risk for cardiac disease. Some studies suggest that reduction of serum triglycerides result in reduced cardiac risk.
Objective
To assess the effect of bariatric surgery on serum triglyceride levels in Sri Lankan adults.
Methods
Pre-operative and follow up weight loss data and serum triglyceride levels of patients who underwent bariatric surgery at the Colombo South Teaching Hospital were assessed. Out of 240 patients, 120 patients with intact data were selected for analysis. The significance of triglyceride level change was assessed by paired sample t test.
Results
Overall 76.2% were females. Mean age (SD) was 37.8 (10.6) years. Mean pre-operative body weight and body mass index were 113.6 (23.6) kg, and 45.0 (6.8) kg/m2 respectively. The mean pre-operative serum triglyceride level was 135.0 mg/dl (56.1). The mean percentage body weight loss at 1, 3, 6, 9, 12 and 18 months post-operatively were 9.6% (3.9) kg, 16.7% (4.5) kg, 23.2% (5.9), 26.7% (6.8), 28.4% (7.4) and 28.8% (8.7) respectively. The mean serum triglyceride reduction at 1, 3, 6, 9, 12 and 18 months post-operatively were 22.9 (47.9) mg/dl, 18.0 (49.6) mg/dl, 32.6 (52.2) mg/dl, 37.2 (56.4), 41.9 (44.7) and 44.5 (54.1) respectively (p<0.001).
Conclusion
Bariatric surgery results in a significant reduction of serum triglyceride levels as early as 1 month after surgery. This effect seems to progressively increase till 9-12 months with plateauing afterwards. The possible cardiac risk reduction gained by reduction of serum triglycerides need to be considered when patients are being considered for bariatric surgery.