Obesity surgery soars among US teens
The number of American children having obesity surgery has trebled in recent years, surging at a pace that could mean more than 1,000 such operations this year, research suggests.
While the procedure is still far more common in adults, it appears to be slightly less risky in teenagers, according to an analysis of data on 12- to 19-year-olds who had obesity surgery from 1996 to 2003.
During that time, an estimated 2,744 American youngsters had the operations. The pace trebled between 2000 and 2003, reaching 771 surgeries that year, the study found.
Youngsters had slightly shorter hospital stays than adults and none died in hospital during the study period. By contrast, there were 212 in-hospital deaths out of an estimated 104,702 adults who underwent obesity surgery in 2003, or a rate of 0.2%, the study found.
Researchers at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in New Brunswick, New Jersey, and Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Centre analysed a database of US hospital patients.
Obesity surgeries in children during the eight-year period and adults in 2003 were included in the analysis.
The study appeared in the Archives of Paediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, published today.
About 5% of US children and adults had major complications, mostly respiratory problems. Children spent an average of about 3.2 days in hospital in 2003, versus 3.5 days for adults.
The youngest patients were aged 12, but most were older teens.
Eric Decker was one of them. In 2003, at the age of 17, he had gastric bypass surgery, the most common obesity operation in teens and adults.
“I was 5ft 8in and 385lb,” Decker said.
Study co-author Dr Thomas Inge attributed the surge in teen operations to publicity about celebrities having obesity surgery, including pop singer Carnie Wilson and broadcaster Al Roker.
The numbers contrast with an estimate in January from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, which reported that 349 youngsters aged 12 to 17 had obesity surgery in 2004.
The new study included children up to the age of 19, which accounted for the higher number, said lead author Dr Randall Burd of Robert Wood Johnson Medical School.
Burd said the numbers of youngsters undergoing obesity surgery has continued to rise along with adults having the surgery.
Inge, of Cincinnati Children’s, said the new study suggested the benefits outweighed the risks for most patients. But it also left many unanswered questions, including how teens fared after leaving hospital.
Obesity surgery during the teen years poses different psychological risks than for adults, Inge said. Many teens were already struggling with identity issues, and rapid weight loss after surgery could catapult them “into situations that they didn’t really imagine before”, he said.
His centre is taking part in a five-year study to examine the medical and psychological results of obesity surgery among teens.
“It’s critically important that the short-term and long-term outcome of these kids is studied” because of the potential health implications, Burd said.
