Neighborhood deprivation and residential property values do not affect weight loss at 1 or 3 years after bariatric surgery

Objective This study examined the association between individual‐ and neighborhood‐level sociodemographic factors and surgical weight loss at 1 year (short term) and 3 years (long term). Methods Data were obtained from the baseline survey of the BELONG (Bariatric Experience Long Term) prospective longitudinal cohort study. Individual‐level self‐reported data on sex, race and ethnicity, education, and household income were obtained by survey. Data from the 2010 US Census were used to calculate area Neighborhood Deprivation Index score and median value of owner‐occupied housing units at the census tract level. Results Patients (N = 1341) had a mean age of 43.4 (SD 11.3) years, were mostly female (86%), were mostly Black or Hispanic (52%), had some college education (83%), and had annual household incomes ≥$51,000 (55%). Percentage total weight loss was 25.8% (SD 9.0%) at year 1 and 22.2% (SD 10.5%) at year 3. Race and ethnicity and age were significant predictors of weight loss at 1 and 3 years with a small effect of self‐reported household income at year 1. There were no significant associations between census tract–level Neighborhood Deprivation Index score or value of owner‐occupied housing units and weight loss at either time point. Conclusions Health systems could improve the chances of weight‐loss maintenance after surgery by addressing factors related to racial and ethnic disparities and to income disparities.