Long-Term Results of Bariatric Surgery in Adolescents with at Least 5 Years of Follow-up: a Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Objects The purpose of this study was to investigate the long-term outcomes of bariatric surgery in adolescents with obesity by including studies with a follow-up of at least 5 years. Methods PubMed, EMBASE, and CENTRAL were systematically searched. Studies that met the criteria were included in the analysis. Result We identified 29 cohort studies with a total population of 4970. Preoperative age ranged from 12 to 21 years; body mass index (BMI) ranged from 38.9 to 58.5 kg/m 2 . Females were the predominant gender (60.3%). After at least 5-year of follow-up, the pooled BMI decline was 13.09 kg/m 2 (95%CI 11.75–14.43), with sleeve gastrectomy (SG) was 15.27 kg/m 2 , Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) was 12.86 kg/m 2 , and adjustable gastric banding (AGB) was 7.64 kg/m 2 . The combined remission rates of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), dyslipidemia, hypertension (HTN), obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), and asthma were 90.0%, 76.6%, 80.7%, 80.8%, and 92.5%, (95%CI 83.2–95.6, 62.0–88.9, 71.5–88.8, 36.4–100, and 48.5–100), respectively. Postoperative complications were underreported. Combined with the current study, we found a low level of postoperative complications. Iron and vitamin B12 deficiencies were the main nutritional deficiency complications identified so far. Conclusion For adolescents with severe obesity, bariatric surgery (especially RYGB and SG) is the independent and effective treatment option. After at least 5 years of follow-up, bariatric surgery in adolescents showed a desirable reduction in BMI and significant remission of T2DM, dyslipidemia, and HTN. Surgical and nutrition-related complications still need to be further explored by more long-term studies. Graphical Abstract