Occupational Outcomes of Obesity Surgery—Do the Employed Return to Work, and Do the Unemployed Find Work?

Background Bariatric surgery offers excellent weight loss results and improvement in obesity-associated comorbidities. Many patients undergoing surgery are of working age, and so an understanding of any relationship between occupational outcomes and surgery is essential. The aim of this study was to ascertain the occupational outcomes of patients undergoing bariatric surgery at a high-volume centre. Methods A retrospective search was performed of a prospectively maintained consecutive electronic database. We collected data on patient demographics and employment status before and after bariatric surgery. All patients with a documented employment status within 30 months of surgery were included. Patients were divided into three groups: within 6 months post-operatively, 7–18 months post-operatively, and 19–30 months post-operatively. Results A total of 1011 patients were included. Median age was 47 years (range 18–78). Pre-operatively, 59.5% (444/746) were employed compared to 69.9% (707/1011) post-operatively ( p