As usual, shortcuts to losing weight pose extra risks.
Obese patients who undergo bariatric surgery have an increased risk of fractures, according to a study presented at the Endocrine Society’s 91st Annual Meeting, held from June 10 to 13 in Washington, D.C. Jackie Clowes, M.D., of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., and colleagues analyzed data on 97 patients (86 of them women, average age of 44 years) who underwent bariatric surgery between 1985 and 2004. After a mean seven-year follow-up, 21 patients suffered a total of 31 fractures. Compared to the fracture rate of age- and sex-matched controls in southeastern Minnesota, the researchers found that the standardized incidence ratios for a first fracture at any site, and first fracture at the hip, wrist, spine, and humerus were 1.8 and 1.4, respectively, among surgical patients. They also found that patients had an even higher risk of both hand and foot fractures (standardized incidence ratios, 3.3 and 3.9, respectively). – From Modern Medicine