The Long-Term Effects of Bariatric Surgery on Type 2 Diabetes Remission, Microvascular and Macrovascular Complications, and Mortality: a Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

This systematic review aimed to evaluate the long-term (≥ 5 years) outcomes of bariatric surgery on diabetes remission, microvascular and macrovascular events, and mortality among type 2 diabetes (T2D) patients. Ten articles (one randomized controlled trial and nine cohorts) met the inclusion criteria and were included in this review. Pooled estimates of nine cohort studies showed that surgery significantly increased the diabetes remission (relative risk (RR) = 5.90; 95% CI 3.75–9.28), reduced the microvascular (RR = 0.37; 95% CI = 0.30–0.46) and macrovascular events (RR = 0.52; 95% CI 0.44–0.61), and mortality (RR = 0.21; 95% CI 0.20–0.21) as compared to non-surgical treatment. Available evidence suggests better remission and lower risks of microvascular and macrovascular disease and mortality in the surgery group as compared to non-surgical treatment group in T2D patients after at least 5 years of follow-up.