There are countless benefits of obesity surgery, directly associated with weight loss or the restoration of a healthy metabolism. However, this study underlines a side effect, a priori surprising, the propensity to then develop disorders with alcohol. This long-term multicenter analysis conducted by scientists at the University of Pittsburgh and presented in the Annals of Surgery, conducted on a group of patients who underwent gastric bypass surgery (Roux-en-Y), also shows that in these patients, the incidence of alcohol-related disorders is higher and the existing screening tools are not working properly.
In summary, the study shows that adults who have undergone gastric bypass surgery gradually increase the frequency of consumption and the quantity of alcohol consumed during the 7 years following their surgery.
An increased risk of alcohol-related disorder associated with Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery: “The American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery has previously recommended that clinicians screen for alcohol-related disorder before and after surgery. surgery, but without giving advice on how to proceed,” recalls lead author Dr. Wendy C. King, associate professor in the Department of Epidemiology at Pitt Public Health. "In the general population, the guidelines recommend the use of one of the 3 alcohol screening tools, but two of these tools prove to be inadequate in adults who have received a gastric bypass".
Higher blood alcohol spikes after: The team followed 1,472 adults who had gastric bypass surgery and performed blood alcohol screening before and after the procedure. The analysis reveals:
- higher peaks in blood alcohol levels after the intervention and a slower elimination of alcohol than that observed in non-operated controls;
- in particular, with a standard dose of alcohol, the maximum blood alcohol level reaches a level approximately 2 times higher after surgery than before surgery; this suggests that the effect of consuming 4 drinks after surgery is similar to consuming 8 drinks for someone who has not had gastric bypass surgery.
Explanation: Not only does gastric bypass lead to long-term weight loss, which increases the effects of alcohol, but patients steadily increase their alcohol consumption in the years following the operation. It remains to understand why. However, conventional screening tools do not identify patients who are at high risk for alcohol-related problems. Thus, among the 835 women who reported having consumed alcohol in a year or more and during one or more annual assessments, the screening did not achieve the level of sensitivity or specificity required to assure clinicians that these patients suffered from possible alcohol-related disorders.
Finally, if in this study, women represented 80% of the participants and the number of men was insufficient to draw significant conclusions, the researchers suggest that there is no reason not to extend these results to men.
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