Those who had a common bariatric surgery to lose weight have a significantly higher risk of alcohol use disorders (AUD) two years after surgery, a study by a National Institutes of Health research consortium has found.
Researchers investigated alcohol consumption and alcohol use disorders symptoms in 1,945 participants from the NIH-funded Longitudinal Assessment of Bariatric Surgery (LABS), a prospective study of patients undergoing weight-loss surgery at one of the 10 hospitals across the United States.
GM Diet
Within 30 days before surgery, and again one and two years after surgery, study participants completed the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification (AUDIT) test.
Negative Calorie
The test, developed by the World Health Organization, identifies symptoms of alcohol use disorders, a condition that includes alcohol abuse and dependence, commonly known as alcoholism.
Study participants were categorized as having AUD if they had at least one symptom of alcohol dependence, which included not being able to stop drinking once started, or alcohol-related harm, which included not being able to remember, or if their total AUDIT score was at least 8 (out of 40).
About 70 per cent of the study participants had Roux-en-Y (RYGB) gastric bypass surgery, which reduces the size of the stomach and shortens the intestine, limiting food intake and the body's ability to absorb calories. Another 25 per cent had laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding surgery, which makes the stomach smaller with an adjustable band. About 5 per cent of the patients had other, less common weight-loss surgeries.
Among participants who had the RYGB procedure, 7 per cent reported symptoms of alcohol use disorders prior to surgery. There was no significant increase in AUD one year after surgery. However, by the second year after surgery, 10.7 per cent of patients reported symptoms of AUD, a relative increase of more than 50 per cent compared to pre-surgical rates.
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