DDW: Gastric Bypass Surgery Tied to Alcohol Abuse Risk

Study finds greater risk for alcohol abuse treatment after gastric bypass surgery

TUESDAY, May 10 (HealthDay News) -- Individuals who undergo gastric bypass surgery are at an increased risk of undergoing treatment for alcohol abuse postoperatively, according to research presented at Digestive Disease Week 2011, held from May 7 to 10 in Chicago.

Magdalena Plecka Östlund, M.D., of the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, Sweden, and colleagues evaluated 12,277 patients who underwent primary bariatric surgery between 1980 and 2006 and matched them for age and gender to a control group of 122,770 patients from the general population.

Compared to the general population, the investigators found that bariatric patients had significantly higher rates of inpatient treatment for psychiatric disease before and after surgery. The investigators also found that gastric bypass surgery was associated with a two-fold increased risk of inpatient treatment for alcohol abuse compared with restrictive surgery.

"Patients undergoing gastric bypass should be carefully counseled on alcohol consumption," Östlund said in a statement. "In addition, caregivers should be aware of the greater potential for alcohol abuse after surgery so treatment can be sought if problems arise."

Abstract No. 266
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